The 23-year-old chef of a popular restaurant in the national capital succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday morning, a week after he was attacked with a wooden plank by three men in south Delhi’s Kotla Mubarakpur, police said.
Pranay Pradhan, a native of Darjeeling, and his four friends were attacked by the trio on the suspicion that a conversation they were having in English on the streets was about them, police had said back then.
Vijay Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (south), confirmed that Pradhan succumbed to his injuries at Safdarjung Hospital and said the Indian Penal Code section of murder would be added to the first information report (FIR).
But natives of Darjeeling and north-eastern states living in Delhi said they were unhappy with the police action. Protesting outside the mortuary on Tuesday, they accused the police of going soft against the culprits.
“It was a hate crime, but the police didn’t press any IPC sections related to that. One of the three attackers also continues to remain scot free,” said Vandana Rai who identified herself as an activist from Darjeeling.
DCP Kumar said the police have already arrested two suspects, Yogesh and Saurav, and a hunt for the third person, Vishal, is on. Earlier, investigators had denied that it was a hate crime.
{{/usCountry}}DCP Kumar said the police have already arrested two suspects, Yogesh and Saurav, and a hunt for the third person, Vishal, is on. Earlier, investigators had denied that it was a hate crime.
{{/usCountry}}The attack had taken place around 2am on July 16 when Pradhan and his four friends were walking back to their homes after attending a birthday party. On the way, they got involved in a quarrel when three men sitting on the roadside picked up a fight with them on suspicion that they were speaking in English about them.
According to the first information report, Pradhan had tried to intervene when the trio pushed Pradhan’s woman friend to the ground. That had prompted them to hit Pradhan on his head with a wooden plank.