Two Nihangs kill delivery executive over ‘smoking’

NEW DELHI: Two Nihang Sikhs stabbed to death a 29-year-old Zomato delivery agent in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar in the early hours of Wednesday over a petty issue, the police said even as the local residents alleged that the two suspects picked up a fight with the victim, Sagar Singh, because he was smoking.

Deputy commissioner of police (west) Ghanshyam Bansal said the police control room was informed about the incident at 12.30am. When the local police reached the spot, residents told them that the victim has been taken to a hospital.

“The victim, Sagar Singh, was stabbed in his chest. Initial probe showed that Singh had a quarrel with two people after which he was stabbed,” the DCP said. The victim was declared dead on arrival at the hospital, he added.

The police arrested Harshdeep Singh, 22, a resident of Chander Vihar, and recovered the knife used in the murder. Both suspects are Nihangs, a Sikh warrior order, the police said.

Bansal said that police teams are looking for the second suspect. “During interrogation, Harshdeep told the police that he and his friend were near a restaurant on street number 13, Krishna Puri, when they saw Sagar blocking their way. He said they asked Sagar to move aside but he rebuked them instead,” the DCP said the claims made by the suspect are being verified.

However, Sagar’s family, another Zomato delivery agent who called the ambulance, and locals of the area told HT that the two accused picked up a fight with Sagar since he was smoking.

Sagar’s brother-in-law, Inder Pal (38), who also works as a delivery agent, said that Sagar used to work night shifts to make extra money and to avoid the traffic during the day.

“On June 15, he received his first order around 12am and the order had to be picked up from an eatery close to his house in street number 13. Sagar had dinner with his wife

Satwant Kaur alias Komal and their 8-year-old son and left for work. He reached the eatery on the first floor within minutes, picked up the order and climbed down the stairs. He walked across the street and started smoking a cigarette,” Pal said.

“Two Nihang Sikhs, who were present near the restaurant, abused Sagar for smoking. But when Sagar told them he was smoking in an open space and refused to stop, the two got angry. “They took out their kirpans (daggers) and stabbed him in the left side of the chest,” Pal alleged.

Santosh Kumar, owner of a building material shop located below the restaurant, said he was sleeping in his shop but a commotion woke him up around midnight.

“When I came out, I found Sagar lying in a pool of blood outside my shop. People who had gathered outside told me that Sagar was also beaten up with bricks that were lying near my shop,” he said, adding that the two Nihangs had fled by then.