AAP worker found dead, police suspect hate crime

The mutilated body of an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was found near a swamp close to his house in outer Delhi's Begum Vihar area near Rohini Sector 24 on Monday morning.

The victim Dhirendra Ishwar (32) was district president of AAP's Purvanchal Wing. His body was found in a semi-nude condition. He was stabbed multiple times, his genitals chopped off and his face smashed with a heavy object, police said. Initial probe by the police indicates hate crime or personal enmity from an illicit relationship.

"He was beheaded. The veins and intestine were out from the stomach and he was not wearing anything below his waist. It appeared that dogs had fed upon the body," a senior officer said.

Dhirendra left home Saturday evening to attend a party in West Delhi's Nangloi area but went missing after the get together.

The victim left home around 6 pm on Saturday, called up his wife around 7.30 pm and said that he would leave for home with an associate in a while, the officer said. Locals raised an alarm after spotting his body near a swamp which is less than 100 metres away from his residence. Police teams rushed to the spot and the victim's family was informed. His relatives identified the body by the jacket, said the officer.

"He was so brutally attacked that it looks like a case of hate crime. However, we are not ruling out the possibility of a robbery gone wrong. We have registered a case of murder in the matter and have sent the body for autopsy," said the senior officer investigating the case.