NEW YORK, June 10: Two men were charged on Thursday with the murder of a Pakistan-origin doorman in New York after his body was found near a subway station near his home.

Police have arrested 22-year-old Farhan Ahmed and 41-year-old Mohammed Hanif, both from Queens for the death of Arshad Mahmood, according to NY 1 television channel. The medical examiner says he was stabbed, beaten and strangled.

Arshad Mahmood, 42, had telephoned his family on Tuesday night to say he was on his way home from work. He was found dead near his home in Queens, a borough of New York, on Wednesday morning. Police stated Mr Arshad had been a victim of robbery.

But a local television report suggested a different motive. The NY1 station said the three men knew each other, and investigators believe Arshad Mahmood was having an affair with Hanif’s wife.

Police said Arshad Mahmood was found in a pool of blood about 30 metres from a subway station. His clothes were in disarray, as though someone had rifled through them looking for valuables.

“All we know is that he got robbed,” said a cousin, Abdul Nasir, 33. He said Mahmood’s watch, cellphone and wallet were missing.

A younger brother, Kamran Khan, 30, said that ordinarily Mr Arshad would drive to and from work, but as his licence had been suspended several weeks ago, he was using the subway of late.

When Arshad Mahmood, the father of five teenagers, did not arrive home by midnight, family members went to a nearby police precinct to file a missing person’s report, relatives said. On returning home, they were met by officers who asked them to identify the picture of a deceased man found in the street.

“All his kids are shocked,” Nasir said. “All he did is that he worked hard. I can’t think of anything he had done to upset anybody.”