Two persons, including a Nigerian national, allegedly stabbed a Supreme Court lawyer following an argument at his residence in Malviya Nagar here on Wednesday.
The accused duo, who had come as clients, is on the run.
The 68-year-old victim, Mohammad Shahid Hussain, is undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Trauma Centre.
According to police, the incident occurred around 7 p.m. when the two assailants visited his flat on the fourth floor of a building located in Jahanpanah Colony.
Azim Afiz, who also lives in the same building and was on the terrace at the time of the incident, said the two had come with some documents seeking Mr. Husain’s advice. The Indian visitor was known to the victim, said the police.
“Moments later, I heard him calling out my name as my mother, who was on the floor above him, rushed in. I did not go immediately as I couldn’t sense that he was in trouble. Moments later, I found that Mr. Husain had been injured on the left side of his neck with a pointed object and the visitors had fled,” said Mr. Azim. He added that Mr. Husain rarely allowed visitors to meet him at his residence but had made an exception on Wednesday evening.
The motive behind the attack is suspected to be an argument between the lawyer and the client over a particular case.
Aam Aadmi Party’s Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti took to Twitter to express his concern about the incident that occurred in Hauz Rani and said he was going to the spot.
He said, “I can’t let my people suffer in this rut.” Further, he tweeted that a senior police official left the area after the public started complaining of police atrocities.
An area resident, who didn’t want to be named, told The Hindu that Mr. Bharti tried to give the incident a local-versus-Nigerian spin by highlighting the nationality of one accused.
It is pertinent to mention that it was Mr. Bharti, who while serving as a Minister in the Delhi Government had in January conducted a “vigilante raid” in neighbouring Khirki Extension as he alleged that African tenants were running a drug and sex racket in the area.
