New Delhi, Jul 2 (IANS): A scuffle that had taken place four years ago led to the murder of a criminal in the Indian capital last month, with the police finally arresting on Monday night the two suspected killers after a 17-day manhunt.

On June 14, Lokesh and Ankur Malik had fired several bullets at Khurvesh when he was driving a car near Nand Nagri in east Delhi during the day.

Khurvesh had a criminal record, with 41 cases slapped against him. The two attackers were identified from CCTV footages but they had escaped.

After the killing, the police raided various places in Baghpat, Shamli, Meerut and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Deputy Commissioner of Police Atul Thakur said.

Finally, on the basis of a tip off, the two were arrested on Monday night, he said.

What police learnt during interrogation was a bizarre tale.

The accused revealed that in 2015 a friend of Khurvesh was walking with a dog and Lokesh had passed a comment that triggered a scuffle. Khurvesh sided with his friend.

"Khurvesh had allegedly abused Lokesh during the scuffle. Since then they wanted to seek revenge. Lokesh has three previous involvements of attempt to murder and robbery while Ankur has five cases of robbery against him," said Thakur.

The police seized weapons from the two men including an imported automatic pistol and a improvised pistol.