A young man went on a slashing spree for nearly an hour, injuring several persons with a blade in at least six locations at Jaffrabad in North-East Delhi.
While the police said they have received only six complaints, unconfirmed reports said over a dozen people were injured.
According to the police, the description of the suspect and the modus operandi in all the incidents was the same. Some complainants purportedly added that the accused was accompanied by a woman, whose face was covered. Only men between 17 and 22 years were targeted, and after each attack the assailant managed to flee.
As news of the attack spread, it triggered panic among the locals in the trans-Yamuna colony. Sources said people locked themselves inside their houses after learning about the incident.
The first incident was reported from Shiv Mandir lane area. The victim in this case was 20-year-old Sumit. A police officer said Sumit was on his way to a place near his house around 9.30 p.m. when he received a strong blow to the back of his head. Before he could regain composure, he spotted a man-woman duo running away.
“When he touched his face, he found it was cut and bleeding. The attacker had managed to inflict the deep cut in a fraction of a second,” said a police source. Sumit was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Soon, two other young men from the area, identified as Karan and Bhati, were also attacked. Both are residents of the same area.
The attacker next entered lane no. 5 and attacked Akash on the forehead. The matter was then reported to the police.
Another youngster Irfan was attacked near Darbar Hotel. Following this, unconfirmed reports of blade slashing started pouring in several lanes of Maujpur. The last reported incident took place at 10.30 p.m. and by then the culprit had travelled through lane nos. 3, 5, 7 and 11 of Maujpur.
A senior police officer claimed they had vital clues about the suspect and were conducting raids to trace him.
Juvenile apprehendedPTI adds:
A 16-year-old mentally-challenged boy has been apprehended by the police in connection with the incident.
“The juvenile offender is mentally unstable and not able to tell us what made him do this. We have registered a case and are questioning him,” he said.
Eyewitnesses told the police that they saw a burqa-clad woman running behind the boy. Investigators are trying to verify these claims, the police added.