Teen murdered, three beaten up in Ggm village over minor spat

GURUGRAM: A 16-year-old boy succumbed after he was fatally stabbed with a knife and three of his friends sustained severe injuries after they were attacked by at least six people with sticks, a knife and a baseball bat over a petty argument in Prem Puri colony of Jharsa village near Sector 32 on Saturday night.

The incident led to protests in the village on Sunday, when people blocked roads demanding immediate arrest of the accused. The situation was brought under control as a quick response team, women police personnel and policemen from at least four police stations were sent to pacify the crowd.

The suspects—gulshan, his father Ramakant, mother Geeta, brother Shubham and two other unidentified persons—were booked for murder, voluntarily causing hurt and common intention under the Indian Penal Code at Sadar police station. While Shubham and Geeta were arrested on Sunday, prime suspect Gulshan and his father were on the run and were yet to be arrested till reports last came in, the police said.

The police said the deceased, Sanjit Kumar, suffered a deep wound on the neck, and had succumbed on his way to the hospital. His friends, Rahul, Abhishek and Krishan, who were beaten up brutally, were referred to the Safdarjung hospital in Delhi.

According to the police, the fight broke out around 8pm Saturday when Kumar and his friends were standing at an empty plot adjacent to his house. Gulshan was assaulting his relative who seemed to be in an inebriated state, said Sadar station house officer (SHO) Basant Chauhan. The accused and the victims are from the same neighbourhood but did not have any past enmity, the police said.

“One of the victims intervened and asked Gulshan what had happened; this enraged Gulshan. He called his family members, who started assaulting the victims— all in the age group of 16-19 years—with sticks and a knife,” the SHO said, adding that a baseball bat, suspected to have been used to attack the teenagers, was also recovered from the plot.

Kumar, 16, had dropped out of school after class six and used to help his uncle as a plumbing assistant. His family said that he was just a bystander to a fight between some people in their neighbourhood.

According to Kumar’s father, Sanjay Thakur, who is the complainant in the case and works as a barber, the accused persons started hurling abuses at his son and his friends without any provocation. “When my son asked them to refrain from using abusive language, the accused and his family members went into their house and returned with sticks and a knife. Gulshan thrust a knife in his neck and others were also severely beaten up,” Thakur stated in the FIR.

Kumar’s mother Rekha said that her younger son, Shivam, carried his brother to the house as he bled.

“He did not pick up any fight. Since he was standing nearby, he was dragged into the fight between some people,” she said.

The police said Kumar was stabbed in the neck with a knife. He was rushed to a private hospital in Sector 32 and then referred to another private hospital in Sector 38, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Rahul and Krishan were discharged after treatment while Abhishek, who was stabbed thrice on his upper body, is reported to be critical, the police said.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, when Kumar’s body was handed over to his family after autopsy, villagers staged a protest on Jharsa Road and blocked traffic to protest inadequate security in the area where the incident took place. The protesters asked police to arrest the accused and ensure deployment of a police control van in the area, where drunken louts and gamblers often harass people. SHO Chauhan assured them that adequate security arrangements would be made.