Man beaten to death in Delhi’s Saket over ‘sudden provocation’; 2 held

The Delhi police said that the murder in Saket happened over a sudden provocation triggered by an exchange of abusive words between the victim and one of the attackers

A 44-year-old man was beaten to death allegedly by four men “over a sudden provocation triggered by an exchange of abusive words” between the man and one of the attackers in Sector-4 Pushp Vihar near Saket in south Delhi late Wednesday night, police said on Saturday.

The victim’s body was found lying near a Mother Dairy booth in south Delhi’s Saket area on Thursday morning. (Representative Image)

Two suspects, including 51-year-old Sher Singh Rawat, who was involved in the exchange of abusive words with the victim, were arrested by the police.The other arrested suspect was identified as Anshul alias Ritik,22. Two other suspects are absconding.

The police said that the murder came to light on Thursday around 7.30am after they received a call from a private hospital in Saket regarding a patient, Arvind Sah, who was dead at the time he was admitted there by his brother named Arun. A police team reached the hospital and met Arun and a relative. They told the police that Sah worked as a labourer at Tughlakabad Container Depot and lived with the family in Sector-4 Pushp Vihar.

“Arun also lives with Sah but he did not suspect anyone behind the murder. Arun told the police that his brother was addicted to drinking (alcohol) and used to come home late or sometimes early in the morning. Also, he did not have enmity with anyone,” said deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (south), Benita Mary Jaiker in a statement issued to the press on Saturday morning.

During the enquiry, the DCP said, it was revealed that around 6am on Thursday, Sah was found lying near a Mother Dairy booth, some 200 metres away from his home. A person known to the family spotted Sah and informed his brother, who in turn brought him to the nearby private hospital. The body was shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary where the autopsy was done. Further enquiry revealed that Sah was assaulted by four persons around 11pm on Wednesday night. Accordingly, a case of murder was registered and investigation was taken up.

During the investigation, two suspects were identified and arrested. They were Sher Singh Rawat and Anshul alias Ritik. Anshul disclosed that his two more friends were involved in the crime and both are residents of Saidulajab near Mehrauli.

“The motive of this crime was sudden provocation, which started from abusive words between Sah and Sher Singh Rawat. After that Anshul got involved and they assaulted Sah. After that Anshul called his two friends and they all beat him and fled away,” said Jaiker, adding that raids were being conducted to nab the absconding suspects.

The altercation began after the victim allegedly stopped the accused from consuming liquor and partying at a footpath in the neighbourhood saying that it would cause inconvenience to passers-by and those living around. HT contacted DCP Jaiker through a text message around Saturday noon asking if these allegations were true. This story will be updated as and when she responds to our question.

The Delhi police statistics show that 277 murder cases were registered in the city till July 15 this year. This is 42 cases more than the murder cases that were registered during the same period last year. In 2021, 459 murder cases were registered in Delhi. Nearly 21% of them happened over “sudden provocation”, which was the second main reason after “enmity and dispute” behind the murders in the city in 2021, the police statistics showed.