20-year-old stabbed in Delhi’s Brijpuri for ‘staring’, suspect at large: Cops

The victim is under treatment at GTB Hospital for stab wounds to his abdomen and is likely to survive

A 20-year-old man was allegedly stabbed following an argument with another person from the same neighbourhood in north-east Delhi’s Brijpuri on Friday night, the Delhi Police said, adding that the locals caught the suspect and locked him in a tent house nearby, but his relatives allegedly stepped in to allow him to escape. Police said that the argument occurred between the victim and the suspect because one of them had stared at the other.

Locals gather around the residence of the 20-year-old victim, Rahul, at Brij Puri in New Delhi on Saturday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

The victim, Rahul, is under treatment at GTB Hospital for stab wounds to his abdomen and is likely to survive, said Joy Tirkey, deputy commissioner of police (northeast). A hunt is on for the suspect, 20-year-old Mohammad Zaid, he said.

Rahul’s sister, Madhu, told the police that the two men hardly knew each other and did not have any previous enmity.

The crime happened when Rahul and his 19-year-old cousin Sonu went to have ice cream around 9.30pm in the street nearby, where Zaid was also present.

“There was an argument between Rahul and Zaid over staring at each other. That soon escalated and they abused each other, following which Zaid stabbed Rahul,” said the DCP. Sonu too was injured in his arm, but he was later discharged from the hospital after first aid. Madhu said that when she heard of the stabbing, she rushed to the spot to find her brother bleeding. “He was badly injured in his lower abdomen. We rushed him to GTB Hospital,” she said.

“Locals caught hold of Zaid and confined him in a tent house nearby”, said Rahul’s father, Ram Swaroop. But Mahipal, an employee of the tent house, said that a group of people came and freed him. “I called the police and they arrived at the scene some 20-30 minutes later. Before that, some people raised the shutters of the tent house and Zaid escaped,” Mahipal said.

The police subsequently registered a case of attempt to murder and causing hurt at Dayalpur police station. “We are questioning Zaid’s uncle and other relatives about his whereabouts. We hope to arrest him soon,” the DCP said.