Man bludgeoned to death with bricks in south Delhi park

A 22-year-old man died after he was allegedly beaten up and attacked with bricks at a park in Malviya Nagar in south Delhi over suspicion that he helped the suspect’s sister elope with a man, police said, adding that the man succumbed to his injuries on Sunday a day later after the assault.

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Chandan Chowdhary said that the victim was identified as Pankaj Kumar, while the suspect is his distant relative Vipin Kumar, 22. Both were residents of Hauz Rani.

Police said they received information on Saturday night regarding he admission of a critically injured man to a private hospital in Malviya Nagar. He was later shifted to Safdarjung Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries onSunday, police said. When police reached the hospital, Pankaj’s brother Vimal Kumar told them that on Saturday evening, Pankaj was drinking with Vipin and two others. The suspect Vipin, according to Vimal, allegedly claimed that Pankaj got into a quarrel at the former’s house and that Vipin saved him during the scuffle, police said.

However, when Pankaj regained consciousness briefly at the hospital, he told his family that it was Vipin himself who assaulted and thrashed Pankaj after repeatedly enquiring about his missing sister.

Pankaj’s sister-in-law Saumya Devi, 23, said that Vipin’s sister, 20, is suspected to have eloped with Pankaj’s friend Sachin Kumar a few weeks ago. “Vipin and his family think that Pankaj helped them elope and that he was aware about the woman’s location,” she said.

Thereafter, a case was registered under sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Malviya Nagar police station.

Subsequently, Vipin was arrested from near his residence on Sunday. During interrogation, he allegedly told police that while they were all drinking at a park near Satpula Lake, he asked Pankaj about his missing sister because he believed that Pankaj knew about her. But when he denied, he got angry and then first pushed Pankaj and later beat him up and attacked him with a brick, police said. He then later came up with the story that Pankaj got injured during a fight at Vipin’s place.