US national dies after fight with guard in Gurugram, 2 held

A 50-year-old American of Indian origin died after an alleged fight with a security guard and another resident in DLF Phase-2 on Wednesday evening in Gurugram

A 50-year-old American of Indian origin died after an alleged fight with a security guard and another resident in DLF Phase-2 on Wednesday evening, police said. While the two accused were arrested and remanded to a day’s police custody, the post-mortem examination suggests that the man, who was a software developer, suffered a heart attack.

US citizen of Indian origin Somou Balaya (not in pic) lived in Gurugram’s DLF Phase 1 every summer during his son’s break. (HT Photo)

A case of murder, under sections (302) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, was filed against two accused—identified as Manik Khosla (25) and Pradeep Singh (46)—at the DLF Phase-2 police station on Wednesday evening.

The deceased was identified as Somou Balaya, who was staying in DLF Phase-1, where he constructed a house. He visited the city once a year during his son’s summer break. Balaya hails from Puducherry and was in India since June 18, the police said.

Police said the incident took place around 5pm on Wednesday, near a private school in Block P of DLF Phase 2, when Balaya was returning home after dropping his 14-year-old son for swimming classes. He had reportedly asked for directions from a security guard deployed near the gate. An argument started when Balaya confronted the security guard about allegedly giving wrong directions, the police said.

The police said they received a call informing them of a man found lying by the roadside. A team from DLF Phase 2 police station reached the spot and rushed him to a private hospital, where he was declared brought dead, assistant commissioner of police Shamsher Singh said.

“We could identify him through the passport card kept in his wallet, and got his residential address from the visiting card in his pocket,” Singh said.

The police said they got suspicious after they visited the spot and cross-checked with the accused Pradeep, who had called the police control room. “He was giving us contradictory statements. When we checked the CCTV footage, the two men (Pradeep and Khosla) were seen assaulting the deceased who later fell on the ground. They were arrested,” Singh said.

Investigators said Khosla, a resident of the area, told them that Pradeep, who was a security guard in the area, had called him to tell him about the alleged altercation between him and Balaya. That’s when he allegedly joined in, the police said.

Dr Deepak Mathur, forensic expert at the Gurugram Civil Hospital, conducted post-mortem. He said there were superficial injury marks on the body but added that they seem to have not lead to his death. “The man died due to a heart attack. However, we have sent the viscera and swab samples to the Madhuban forensic science laboratory for examination,” Dr Mathur said.

However, according to the doctor on duty at Uma Sanjeevani hospital where Balaya was first taken there were no external injuries on the body of the deceased. Dr Praveen Kumar Jadhav, who examined the deceased, said he was brought dead around 5:20 pm. “Two policemen had come with the body and I had examined the complete body, but it did not seem to be a case of assault. The post-mortem report will reveal the cause of death,” Jadhav said.

Complainant in the case Sanu Mishra (26), supervisor and caretaker of Balaya’s residence, said a police team had come to the house to inform them about the incident. When the family reached the hospital, they found that Balaya had died.

“I was not at the spot, I have no idea about exactly what happened and what led to his death. The driver, Bablu, had left around 4.20 pm and he (Balaya) had asked him (Bablu) to pick him around 5pm,” Mishra said.

The deceased had to return to US on August 18 and had booked his flight along with his wife and son, the caretaker said.

The body of the deceased was handed over to the family after the autopsy, the family friends of the deceased said, adding that Balaya’s wife is in a state of shock and has refused to speak to any media person. “The cremation will be held in Delhi on Friday,” said a friend of the deceased requesting anonymity.