: Over a dozen youths allegedly chased a 21-year-old man and bludgeoned him to death in Delhi Cantonment on Sunday. Three among them have been arrested.
Identified as Akash, the victim was to join a call centre soon.
On Sunday evening, he was playing cricket at a park when the attackers came on four bikes, recalled his friend Rahul, who was with him.
Twists and turns
“I asked Akash to run, and he did so. He scaled the wall of the park, forcing the attackers to take a detour. When he reached outside, he spotted two traffic policemen. Akash pleaded with them to save his life. They intercept one bike with three men, but the others continued to chase Akash. By the time help could arrive, the men had attacked him on his head with a slab,” said Rahul.
Akash was rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where he succumbed to injuries on Monday.
“A case of murder has been registered. Those arrested include Narender Kumar, Ajeet and Neeraj,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South West) Surender Kumar.
The police claim that the attack was over some old rivalry.
The victim’s family, however, said the suspects had been “baying for his blood” since assaulting him first on July 12, unprovoked.
Previous assault
“A group of nine to ten people had assaulted him at CVD Line Park. They had slapped him and hit him with belts for reasons he was not aware of. Two of them were identified as Vicky and Dhoni,” said Sunny, Akash’s elder brother.
Brother threatened
Sunny claimed that an even larger group, comprising nearly three dozen young men including Vicky and Dhoni, had waylaid him the same night and had asked him about Akash.
“I told them that I would talk to Akash, and managed to pacify them. They, however, left issuing a death threat and abusing me,” said Sunny.
Meanwhile, Rahul alleged that he has been receiving threat calls since the incident happened.
On Sunday evening, he was playing cricket at a park when the attackers came on four bikes
