Man chased, stabbed to death in front of Delhi’s Malviya Nagar market

The victim’s cousin Manish said that according to the information locals and police shared with the family, the men purportedly tried to snatch something from Mayank and when he resisted, a scuffle took place between the two parties

A 25-year-old man was chased and stabbed to death by a group of five or six assailants in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar area on Thursday evening. Footage from CCTV cameras in the area showed the man attempting to flee his attackers, even as they pinned him down and stabbed him multiple times while passersby watched in horror.

In a video of the incident, which was widely shared on the social media, Mayank is seen running while three persons chase him near a market. A few other men are seen joining the three, and at least one of them is seen stabbing him. (Sourced)

Police said they have registered a case but have not arrested anyone so far.

Deputy commissioner of police (South) Benita Mary Jaiker identified the victim as Mayank Panwar, a resident of Shahpur Jat, adding that he was a hotel management graduate, but unemployed.

Police said they received a call at Malviya Nagar police station informing them that a person was stabbed near Begumpur’s DDA market. When police reached the spot, the injured person had already been shifted to the hospital. “Later, AIIMS Trauma Centre informed us about Mayank’s death,” she said.

At the hospital, police met Mayank’s friend Vikas Panwar who was at the crime scene at the time of the incident. He told them that around 7pm on August 11, they were sitting at Qila, Begumpur when four or five men started arguing with Mayank. “The men left and returned to pelt stones at the two friends. When Vikas and Mayank tried to flee the spot, the men started chasing them,” Jaiker said, adding that they overpowered Mayank near gate number 3 of the DDA market and stabbed him multiple times with a sharp-edged object.

In a video of the incident, which was widely shared on the social media, Mayank is seen running while three persons chase him near a market. A few other men are seen joining the three, and at least one of them is seen stabbing him.

Mayank’s family said that he left home with his friends around 4pm after celebrating Raksha Bandhan.

His cousin Manish said that according to the information locals and police shared with the family, the men purportedly tried to snatch something from Mayank and when he resisted, a scuffle took place between the two. “We were told that those people are local criminals and they snatch from people regularly. They pelted stones and also chased Mayank to kill him. We don’t know the rest. We are waiting for police to tell us what happened,” he said.

To be sure, police did not confirm that the murder was a result of a snatching attempt. Investigating officials said it appeared the killers were known to Mayank.

While snatching is the most common street crime across the city, a person is murdered when he/she resists the snatching only in rare cases. At least 5,024 snatching cases were reported between January 1 and July 15 this year – an average of one snatching every hour--according to Delhi Police data. However, these are only reported cases. The actual number could be higher.

Another cousin of Mayank’s, 45-year-old Sonal Singh, said, “Police told the family they had detained some persons, but did not reveal the motive for the crime.The body was handed over to us late afternoon and last rites were performed.”

DCP Jaiker said that a case under sections 302 (Punishment for murder) and 34 (Common intention) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered and investigation is on.

A senior police officer, aware of the probe, who asked not to be named, said, “Some locals said that Mayank and his cousin VIkas were drinking at the spot before the attack took place. But we are verifying this. Apart from the footage that captured the crime, we are looking at the footage from other cameras too. The footage will help us piece together the exact sequence of events. We are questioning the Vikas too to find what actually led to the argument and scuffle with those men.”