Bartender’s Body Found in Pieces Inside Fridge in South Delhi

The 29-year-old’s body was found in three pieces inside plastic bags kept in a fridge at his friend’s house.

The body of 29-year-old Vipin Chand Joshi, who went missing five days ago, was recovered on Saturday from inside a fridge at his friend’s house in south Delhi’s Mehrauli. According to the police, a meat chopper was also recovered from the house. The friend whose house it was, Badal Mandal, is missing.

Three days after he went missing, Joshi’s brother filed a missing person’s complaint with the police. During investigation, it was found that both Joshi and his friend Mandal had not reported to their place of work – a south Delhi restaurant where they worked as bartenders – for a few days, and were last seen near the latter’s house.

While Joshi’s family lives in Uttarakhand, Mandal had sent his wife and two children away to their home in West Bengal late last month.

Discovery of the Body

On Saturday afternoon, a PCR call was made about a foul smell emanating from a house is Saidulajab in Saket, the location where both Mandal and Joshi lived. When the police went to inspect, they found a room splashed with blood stains, the refrigerator door half open, and Joshi’s body chopped up in three parts in black plastic bags. The trays had been removed to accommodate the body, which had begun to rot since the fridge had been left open.

Based on preliminary investigation, Mandal is the prime suspect as of now. According to the police, the two ‘close friends’ lived in the same locality, worked at the same place, and were last seen leaving their restaurant together on 9 October. The police believe they went on to consume alcohol that night at Mandal’s accommodation.

We found blood-stained clothes and liquor bottles at the spot. A knife too was found, but we still need to establish if it was used in the killing and chopping the body.

Police investigator speaking to CNN

Police suspect that the murder might have taken place two days ago. They are considering Mandal as the main suspect as of now. A team has been sent to West Bengal to find him, while another is scanning CCTV footage around the bar and their homes to piece together the series of events before and after the murder.