‘Kicked victim in self defence’: Delhi's Laxmi Nagar assault accused in viral video

A suspect in a violent attack on a businessman and his family in Delhi admitted his involvement in a video, claiming defamation due to his BJP affiliation.

One of the absconding suspects in the assault of a 52-year-old businessman and his family in east Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar released a video statement on Tuesday admitting that he had participated in the attack and claiming he was being defamed by opposition parties because he was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker. Police saying they were trying to locate the man, Onkar Yadav, through technical surveillance and arrest him.

The businessman’s wife said that her son has not returned home because of the public humiliation. (Screengrab/X)

On Monday, a series of videos of the January 2 assault, in which the businessman’s 26-year-old son was also stripped and beaten by a group of men on the street outside their residence, sent shockwaves in the Capital and raised serious questions about law and order in the city. The dispute was allegedly linked to the ownership of a gym in the basement of the family’s residence, where one of suspects, Satish Yadav (Pintoo), had been a caretaker. Satish has been arrested while three other suspects named in the first information report (FIR), including Onkar, have been absconding.

“We are trying to ascertain the source through which Omkar’s video was shot and released. It will help us locate and arrest him. Multiple teams have been formed and they are conducting raids to arrest him and at least two other suspects, identified as Shubham Yadav and Vikas Yadav, who are associates of Satish,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.

In the purported 1.28 minute-long video clip, he first identifies himself as Omkar Yadav, a resident of Laxmi Nagar, and then confirms he was present at the crime scene on January 2. He further admits that he kicked the businessman’s son, claiming he did it a few times in self-defence as he was being attacked.

Omkar adds he is a BJP worker and accuses opposition parties of defaming the party and him. He claims that the complainant in the FIR, the businessman’s wife, and Satish had been running a business together for the past 20-25 years and that Satish had been running the gym in the basement of the family’s house for the past 12-13 years.

He also laments that his version of events were not being taken into account. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of video.

Saying that the BJP has “zero tolerance” for such behaviour, the party in a statement said, “We have already terminated his membership of BJP.”

Meanwhile, the businessman’s wife told HT on Tuesday that her son has not returned home because of the public humiliation he suffered. “He is now responding to my calls but refusing to share his location or return home.”

The three video clips of the incident, taken from the CCTV cameras at the victims’ residence, that went viral on Monday showed that she and her husband were both physically assaulted by a group of men in front of their residence. Then, their son was dragged from home, stripped in the street, and kicked in the face several times. The assault only ended after two police officers arrived.

The videos prompted criticism over the ease with which the attackers operated, even seeming to be unfazed by the arrival of the cops. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of video.