Auto driver killed trying to stop fight in Kamla Market

Police identified the victim as Ganga Mahto, and the injured as Siya Ram, 43, a resident of Wazirabad who runs a small auto spare parts kiosk near Shivaji Park at Minto Road.

A 55-year-old auto-rickshaw driver was killed while trying to save a man who was being attacked for delaying payment of a loan in Central Delhi’s Minto Road area on Tuesday evening, the police said, adding they have arrested a suspect in connection with the incident.

Auto driver killed trying to stop fight in Kamla Market. (HT Photo)

Police identified the victim as Ganga Mahto, and the injured as Siya Ram, 43, a resident of Wazirabad who runs a small auto spare parts kiosk near Shivaji Park at Minto Road. An officer said the suspect, Gurdeep Singh, 41, a resident of Nangloi, had an altercation with Siya Ram over the payment of interest on a loan that the latter had taken from Singh over two years ago.

He added that when Mahto tried to intervene and calm Singh down, the latter took out a dagger (kirpan) and first attacked him, and then assaulted Siya Ram.

Siya Ram said that he had taken a friendly loan of ₹1lakh from Singh about two years ago, and returned ₹40,000 last April. He was paying ₹3,000 as interest at the rate of 5% every month.

“The payment was due on the 10th of every month and I had been paying him regularly. Unfortunately, I suffered a paralytic attack on April 4, and couldn’t arrange the money for latest instalment,” he said.

He alleged that Singh called him on Monday, asking for the money. “I promised him to pay by Tuesday evening. Singh called me in the afternoon and I promised him I would arrange the money somehow, but he started abusing me. I told him to not abuse me but he got enraged and asked me where I was so he could ‘come and teach me a lesson’. I told him I was at the shop,” Siya Ram alleged.

Mahto was waiting near Siya Ram’s shop, his usual stop, when Singh reached there and started abusing Siya Ram. Mahto knew about Siya Ram’s health problems and tried to intervene and calm Singh down. “At this, Singh stabbed him in the neck with a kirpan,” Siya Ram said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shweta Chauhan said after stabbing Mahto, Singh attacked Siya Ram too. Siya Ram sustained injuries on the face and neck. He was hospitalised on Tuesday, but was discharged on Wednesday morning.

“A crowd had gathered near the shop, and some people caught Singh while he was trying to flee from the spot,” Siya Ram said.

The police were called to the spot and Singh was handed over to them. While Mahto was rushed to Lok Nayak Hospital by a fellow auto-driver, Siya Ram was taken to another hospital in a PCR van. Mahto succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

DCP Chauhan said that a case under sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 307 (punishment for attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered and the dagger used by Singh has been recovered.