NEW DELHI: There were four of them in the room, but only one was drinking hard. As Yogender Singh guzzled from the bottle, Neetu, his live-in partner of six years; Rohit, her 18-year-old boyfriend, and Asha, their host and neighbour, watched him for signs of weakness. As soon as he appeared to pass out, they lunged forward and strangled him with a cloth that Neetu had brought along.

It was after 1am on Wednesday, the party was over, but the dead guest had to be shown out. Sathiabad village in Outer Delhi district, where Asha lived, was silent and dark. The trio bundled the 29-year-old driver's body into her car and drove out to look for a desolate spot to dump it.

They drove nervously around Narela for more than an hour. Around 3am, they found a deserted spot near DDA flats in Sector A9 of Pocket 1. They dragged the body out of the car, and after making sure they were not being watched, clobbered the back of its head with stones, a police official told TOI.

Although Singh died, his face was recognizable, and when locals reported finding a body near the DDA flats early in the morning, police acted quickly to crack the case.

A team led by ACP Ravinder Kumar Sharma contacted Singh's family and came to know he had been living with Neetu. She was caught at her house and told police about the murder plot and the involvement of her friends, said Vikramjit, DCP of Outer district.

Police said Singh and Neetu (30) had lived together since 2009. Neetu allegedly grew tired of him because he didn't earn well and had run up debts. He also blew up his money on drink. They fought often over his finances and, at times, Singh used to thrash her.

When Singh returned home around 9.30pm on Tuesday, Neetu asked him to accompany her to Aasha's house nearby. When the couple arrived, Rohit was already present with Asha (32) and helped her carry out the plan.

Police said Asha, whose husband died some years ago, had been living alone in a rented flat and had befriended Neetu. Rohit had started visiting both the women recently.

Neetu's confession helped police catch Asha and Rohit promptly. All the accused were sent to judicial custody on Wednesday afternoon.

