17-year-old dies 8 days after assault by group of teens in Delhi

A Class 12 student of a government school at Bhajanpura in northeast Delhi died on Saturday — eight days after he was assaulted by a group of teenagers and a man — the Delhi Police said on Sunday.

According to the police, the 17-year-old victim had a verbal spat over a trivial issue with one of the teenagers three days before the assault on him.

A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, wrongful restraint, physical assault and common intention was registered at the Bhajanpura police station on Saturday, soon after the victim succumbed to his injuries at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital.

The boy whom the victim had a spat with is a 16-year-old Class 11 student of another government school in Bhajanpura, said police, adding that he along with his father and others assaulted the victim. The man, identified as Manish Gupta, 37, has been arrested.

Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said that they were still ascertaining the exact sequence of events and the cause of death. “As of now, we know that the two boys had a verbal spat on December 12 over the issue of one of them standing outside the other’s school campus. Further probe is on,” added Tirkey.

According to the police, the victim was returning home from school on December 15 when a group of at least 10 people, including the teens and Gupta, waylaid him outside the school in D Block, Bhajanpura. They entered into an altercation over the earlier issue between the two boys. The argument turned violent and the suspects kicked and punched him on the road, causing injuries to his head and face, police said.

“However, no medico-legal certificate (MLC) of the injured student was done then because both parties settled the matter after some elders intervened. The injured boy received first aid treatment at a nearby clinic and returned home that day,” the DCP added.

On Saturday around 6am, the teenager woke up and his health started deteriorating. He lost consciousness, after which he was rushed to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital from where the doctors referred him to RML hospital. He died at the hospital during treatment late in the evening, police said, adding that his death was reported to the police around 10.30pm.

Tirkey said that Gupta was arrested after the police scanned the CCTV camera near the assault spot and found him involved in the attack.

“We have arrested Manish Gupta as he was present there when the teenager was assaulted. The scanning of the video footage has confirmed it. Gupta is a confectioner by profession. We are trying to identify the others involved in the attack. Juveniles found in conflict with the law will be apprehended and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board,” said Tirkey.

Tirkey added that the victim’s father, 54, filed a complaint and based on which the first information was registered under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 323 (physical assault), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code at Bhajanpura police station. The victim is survived by his parents and an elder sister.