Comatose man dies nearly 2 years after murder bid in Gurugram

On May 15, 2021, Rahul Kumar was strangled with a piece of cloth and dumped in a field in Kapriwas by the three men, assuming him to be dead. He was spotted by a farmer, who alerted the police. He had been undergoing treatment since then

A 24-year-old Gurugram man died on Wednesday night after being in a coma for nearly two years following a murder attempt in May 2021 by three of his friends over a financial dispute, officials said on Thursday.

The deceased, Rahul Kumar. (HT PHOTO)

On May 15, 2021, Rahul Kumar was strangled with a piece of cloth and dumped in a field in Kapriwas by the three men, assuming him to be dead. He was spotted by a farmer, who alerted the police. He had been undergoing treatment since then. On Wednesday night, he died after his condition deteriorated at his Nanukalan home in Pataudi.

The three accused in the case — Ghanti alias Dharmender, Harvinder alias Harkesh and Rahul alias Deepak — were arrested on within a fortnight of the murder, and were currently lodged in jail. At the time, they were booked under sections 34 (common intention) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code. Police have submitted a chargesheet in the case.

However, the three now face murder charges following Kumar’s death, a senior police officer aware of the matter said.

“The trio has been languishing in jail. Their bail petitions have been rejected a few times. A postmortem examination was conducted on Thursday after which the body was handed over to his family. Now, the arrested accused will face murder charges as Section 302 of IPC will be invoked in the case,” the officer said, requesting anonymity.

Kumar used to run a travel agency and was also into money-lending business. According to the police, Kumar had lent ₹5.5 lakh to the trio. “He was putting pressure on them to repay. This led to an enmity and they tried to kill him,” the police officer quoted above said.

Parveen Chauhan, 23, Kumar’s younger brother, said that the family had spent at least ₹40-45 lakh on his treatment so far. “We sold our properties, mother’s ornaments, and Kumar’s four cars for his treatment. We also took loans of at least ₹12-14 lakh from relatives and friends... but his condition deteriorated in the last two days and finally died at home,” he said.

According to the doctors treating Kumar, two of his nerves in the neck were permanently damaged from the strangulation attempt due to which he slipped into a coma.