Sarojini Nagar market: NDMC attendant assaulted over parking dispute; 1 held

A street vendor was arrested for attacking an NDMC parking attendant over a parking dispute in New Delhi. Others involved will be apprehended soon.

A street vendor has been arrested for allegedly thrashing a 42-year-old New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) parking attendant over a parking dispute at Sarojini Nagar market on Sunday, police said, adding the others involved in the attack will be held shortly.

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According to the FIR, seen by HT, parking attendant Sumer Singh said that he has been working as an NDMC parking attendant for the past 10 years, and was currently deployed near the Delhi Public Library opposite the main market.

Singh said that around 12:30pm on Sunday, he was standing with his colleague when a man, identified as Barkat, parked his SUV outside the library. “I asked him not to park the vehicle there as it was not allowed. But he said he owned a shop in the market and insisted on parking there. I asked him again, and he started arguing with me and then started hitting me with a stick,” Singh alleged in the FIR.

Singh added that Barkat then called some people and they all thrashed him. Soon, passersby started gathering at the spot and Singh was eventually saved by his colleagues. Barkat and his associates fled the spot soon after.

Singh was rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre and is currently receiving medical treatment. “They broke my right leg. I underwent a surgery and it will take me a few months to fully recover. I don’t know how my family will manage without regular pay,” Singh said.

NDMC officials, meanwhile, said that a police complaint had been filed by the civic agency, and all assistance will be provided to Singh.

Police said that a case under sections 115(2) (causing hurt), 126 (wrongful restraint), and 3(5) (common intention) has been registered in the matter. “We have arrested the main suspect, and his associates are currently absconding. The team will arrest others soon,” a police officer said.

Ashok Randhawa, who heads the Sarojini Nagar mini-market traders association, said that the issue of wrongful parking at the market has been ongoing for the past year-and-a-half.

“Street vendors frequently park their mini-trucks and private vehicles on the road to load and unload their goods, causing significant congestion. They also do not pay the parking charges, which often leads to arguments. The recent dispute was a result of this ongoing issue,” Randhawa alleged.

Randhawa claimed that a multi-level car parking at the market, which was ready to be inaugurated in January 2025, could solve the parking problem but is still waiting to be opened.