Man bludgeoned to death over parking issue: Ghaziabad police identify prime suspect

Police said the victim Varun Singh alias Arun, the son of a retired Delhi police sub-inspector was a resident of Jawli in Loni, while the prime suspect Kallu Pandit, in his late thirties, is from the adjacent Rajpur village

Two days after a 35-year-old man was allegedly bludgeoned to death with bricks late on Tuesday outside a restaurant on Loni Road due to an altercation over a parking issue, Ghaziabad police said they identified the prime suspect, who is presently on the run.

On Tuesday, a seven-second video of the incident, captured by passengers in a passing car, went viral. The video shows the man lying on the road and one of the suspects repeatedly hitting him in the head with bricks. (PTI)

Police said the victim Varun Singh alias Arun, the son of a retired Delhi police sub-inspector was a resident of Jawli in Loni, while the prime suspect Kallu Pandit, in his late thirties, is from the adjacent Rajpur village.

On Tuesday, a seven-second video of the incident, captured by passengers in a passing car, went viral. The video shows the man lying on the road and one of the suspects repeatedly hitting him in the head with bricks. Several cars were also seen at the scene. The suspects also damaged Varun’s car before leaving him for dead by the roadside around 9.15pm.

According to police, Varun had come to a restaurant with his two friends, Deepak Kumar and Sanjay Rawat.

“After dinner, they were about to leave in Varun’s car when another car parked next to his. Varun, who was to drive, was unable to open his door and objected to the car being parked so close. This led to an altercation between the two groups,” said Bhuvnesh Kumar, station house officer of Tila Morh police station on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Varun’s family told HT that they looked through footage from CCTV cameras in the area and found that a group of assailants had driven to the scene of the crime in a Celerio car and called up other men, who later arrived in a Swift car.

Police registered an FIR against unidentified men under Indian Penal Code sections for murder and causing damages. Deepak and Sanjay were also named in the FIR, as Varun’s family alleged that they fled the scene, leaving Varun to fend for himself, and simply called the family to inform them of the incident.

“Five teams are working to crack the case. Based on the video of the incident, footage from CCTV cameras in the area and local information, we have identified the prime suspect, Kallu Pandit, who hit Varun in the head with bricks. Pandit is from the adjacent Rajpur village and is on the run. Our teams have also identified other suspects with the help of Varun’s family,” said Gyanendra Kumar Singh, superintendent of police (city 2).

“The role of Varun’s two friends is being probed. They fled the scene of crime and did not help him. Once the prime suspect and others are arrested, we will get more details,” the SP added.

Police said there are two criminal cases registered against Kallu Pandit at Sahibabad police station.

“We do not know Kallu Pandit and have no enmity or any sort of rivalry with him. People from Rajpur village often come to our place. When they saw the video and CCTV footage, they identified Pandit. We also found out the name person who sent his relatives and friends in a Swift car to assault Varun,” Aniruddh Singh, Varun’s cousin, said.

Aniruddh had rushed to the scene of crime on Tuesday night after Deepak called him, and found Varun lying motionless in a pool of blood. He rushed Varun to a hospital where the doctors declared him dead.

Varun’s family said that he was a wrestler since childhood and played up to the state level.

“He left wrestling when he got married in 2013. The entire family is in a state of shock and grief,” Aniruddh said.

“We are waiting for the police to arrest the suspects and will pursue the case. We demand strictest punishment for the suspects. If they are granted bail or let off, it will encourage them to behave badly in the future as well,” Aniruddh added.