Man thrashed on busy road in Delhi; crime caught on video

Police said the assault happened after the victim Sachin Lohiya’s car hit the suspects’ vehicle from behind

A 28-year-old man suffered serious injuries after a group of eight to 10 people, including three wearing khaki jackets, assaulted him at the busy Mehrauli-Gurugram (MG) Road near Sultanpur Metro station in south Delhi on Friday afternoon, police said.

A screen grab of the incident. (HT Photo)

Police said the assault happened after the victim Sachin Lohiya’s car hit the suspects’ vehicle from behind.

Two of the attackers were apprehended, police said, adding that the remaining suspects fled the spot. Those apprehended were identified as Vikrant Kumar, 25 and Prabhat Sharma, 29. The victim was identified as Sachin Lohiya, a resident of Chhatarpur.

“Vikrant and Prabhat, in their statements to the police, said that the people seen wearing khaki jackets were not from any police force. However, their claims will be confirmed only when the absconding suspects are apprehended,” said deputy commissioner of police (south) Chandan Chowdhary.

A case will be registered after the victim’s statement is recorded and the police procure his medical report, the officer added. Police have also seized the two cars involved in the incident — a Hyundai Verna that Lohiya was driving and a Maruti Suzuki Celerio that Kumar was driving. A bystander informed the police after which a team from the Fatehpur Beri police station reached the spot. “Lohiya was taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre in a PCR van. He was discharged after medical attention,” the officer added.

The attack was captured by bystanders on their phones. The video clips, shared on social media, ostensibly showed at least eight men kicking and punching Lohiya, who is sitting inside the car. It also showed three of them were wearing khaki jackets while at least one was also wearing a holster with a pistol around his waist.

According to Sunil Nagar, one of Lohiya’s relatives, Lohiya was driving his car to a workshop. When he reached near the Sultanpur Metro station, the Celerio ahead of him applied bakes suddenly, causing Lohiya to ram into it.

“A quarrel broke out between them. Kumar was in the Celerio with his colleague Sharma and others. Lohiya then started manhandling Kumar, which is when Sharma called and told his office, a real estate firm in Chhattarpur, about the incident. Soon four to five people arrived and began attacking Lohiya,” said DCP Chowdhary. Nagar said the men in khaki jackets identified themselves as Delhi Police personnel and threatened the public that had gathered of dire consequences if they attempted to the intervene.