Man's death led to arson on Metro station campus

Tension ran high at Arya Nagar colony near Karkardooma Metro station in east Delhi as sporadic skirmishes between policemen in riot gear and local residents continued till late on Saturday. HT reports.

Tension ran high at Arya Nagar colony near Karkardooma Metro station in east Delhi as sporadic skirmishes between policemen in riot gear and local residents continued till late on Saturday.

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Women alleged that the policemen had thrashed them as well.

After a man's death, allegedly at the hands of bouncers of a three-storey banquet hall on the station premises late on Friday night led to mob fury a day later, a heavy police bandobast turned the entire area off Vikas Marg, east Delhi's lifeline, into a garrison.

Family members of the victim, 37-year-old Rakesh Dayal, who worked as a driver in Anand Vihar, said he was beaten to death and his body thrown outside the Metro station only for picking up a couple of balloons from a party venue.

His wife Babita was in a state of shock, while his two children - three-year-old Rishabh and one-year-old Rasika - looked clueless about the tragedy.

The victim's sister, Madhu, said, "A neighbour spotted the body at 3am. Police refused to lodge a case, have an autopsy done and give us the body. This angered the local residents and they went on the rampage."

They burned down a vehicle, ransacked the banquet hall before setting fire to it, blocked Vikas Marg and fought a pitched battle with the police, leaving many injured. Disposable plates, food items and other utensils could be seen strewn outside the banquet hall.

"His two elder brothers -- Mukesh and Surendra -- had been sitting at the police station but police said there was no doctor available for post-mortem," Madhu said. "Our land was acquired to build the Metro station that also houses the banquet hall. We have not even got the cash compensation. His parents and one brother died sometime back," she said.

"At 2.15am on Saturday, we got the information about a man lying in an unconscious state. We rushed him to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. A case was lodged on the basis of the complaint given by the victim's family," said a senior police officer.

"The mob got angry after rumours spread that police were not taking action. We're getting the post-mortem done. The body will be handed over tonight or tomorrow morning," he said.