23-Year-Old Stabbed to Death by Man Known to Her in Dwarka, Three Arrested

Dolly Babbar was stabbed at least six times and was found lying in a pool of blood near her home in Dwarka.

(Photo: The Quint)

(Descriptions of assault and physical violence. Reader discretion advised.)

A 23-year-old woman named Dolly Babbar was stabbed to death in Delhi on Monday night, 18 October, allegedly by a man identified as Ankit Gaba and was known to her.

Babbar was assaulted and stabbed at least six times and was found lying in a pool of blood near her home in Dwarka.

The Delhi Police have arrested the accused Ankit Gaba (25), and two other men Manish and Himanshu, in connection with the case.

While exploring all angles, cops had earlier said that Gaba could have murdered her for rejecting his advances. However, in a press conference, almost 40 hours after the incident, they said that a heated argument between Gabba and Babbar resulted the former stabbing the girl.

What Happened?

According to multiple reports, Babbar left her house around 11:30 pm to attend a friend's cake-cutting function in Uttam Nagar's Om Vihar. She had reportedly told her family that she would be back in an hour.

CCTV footage from the crime site shows three men standing with a woman, identified as Babbar. One of them then begins stabbing her – while the two others watch.

As per police report, Babbar had gone with Gaba and the two other friends to party. A verbal spat soon turned into a fight, the cops said. As shown in the CCTV footage, police said, Gaba then went on to stab her as the other two watched.

A Zomato delivery executive, passing through the neighbourhood, saw an injured woman lying in a pool of blood and called the Police Control Room.

“We received a call about a woman lying on the road. We reached the spot and found her with multiple stab wounds. The men had fled. We informed the family and rushed the woman to a hospital, where she was declared dead. We spoke to neighbours who said they had seen a man, identified as Ankit Gaba (25), attacking her with a knife. We were told he had proposed to her earlier,” a senior police told The Indian Express.

The accused escaped to Chandigarh and then Patiala. "Ankit was apprehended from the area of PS Sector-23. The weapon of offence has also been recovered. The entire operation of arrest and recovery was completed within 24 hours from the time of incidence," police said.

Dolly Babbar – The Girl Next Door

"She had informed one of her friends that Ankit Gaba threatened her with a gun. I wish we could have reached earlier. We were sleeping when the police informed us. I saw her lying on the road. There were many people but nobody helped," her brother Lakshay told The Indian Express.

According to police report, Gaba and Babbar were childhood friends.

A girl next door, Babbar was an aspiring make-up artist and model, who had interned at various apparel brands in Delhi.

Babbar's father is an auto driver and her mother is a homemaker.

"Dolly didi wanted to start her event management work again. She was friendly and treated them (the accused) like brothers,” Lakshay said.

(The Quint had erroneously used the image of another person named Dolly Babbar in an earlier version of the story. The error is regretted.)