New Delhi, April 25 : An ice cream vendor was stabbed to death by a man near the highly secured India Gate late on Wednesday, police said.

The deceased is identified as 25-year-old Prabhat, a resident of Sangam Vihar in Delhi, and a native of Etawah in Uttar Pradesh.

According to police, on Wednesday at 9:02 p.m., an information regarding a quarrel near India Gate was received at Kartavya Path police station, following which a police team rushed to the spot.

Upon reaching the spot, the injured (identified as Prabhat) was found and was taken to Lady Hardinge Hospital for treatment but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

'During the probe, it is found that Prabhat was an ice cream vendor at C-Hexagon India Gate who had come just on that day as a vendor. One person in his twenties came to his ice cream rehdi and stabbed him multiple times,' said Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Devesh Kumar Mahla.

Blood and slippers were found at the spot which were seized by the police team. 'But the mobile phone of the deceased was missing. Family members of the deceased were examined at length and it came on record that Prabhakar was in a relationship with one minor girl,' said the DCP.

Further to crack the case, the police team started electronic surveillance of mobile numbers of the alleged girl and her relatives and also conducted joint raids in different places of NCR.

'The CCTV cameras were also analysed near the spot to find out the escape route of the accused,' said the DCP, adding that it was also confirmed on analysis that one minor girl was in a relationship with the deceased; and a person namely Ajay a.k.a Akash, a resident of Gonda in Uttar Pradesh."

The DCP said that to get rid of Prabhat, she conspired with Ajay and induced him to eliminate her boyfriend.

'At last with sincere efforts, Ajay was apprehended and the mobile phone of the deceased was recovered from his possession,' said the DCP, adding that Ajay was working as a labour and driver with Malik Tent House at Village Shahpura in Noida.

/IANS