Businessman beaten to death in central Delhi; two arrested

A 36-year-old businessman died after he was allegedly punched, kicked and repeatedly hit on the head with a helmet by two food delivery workers in Connaught Place following an argument, the police said on Tuesday.

Both the accused have been arrested while another delivery executive, who was also on the spot but not involved in the crime, was let go, the police added.

The incident occurred on January 3 in a heavily barricaded, high-security zone covered by multiple CCTV cameras near a gate of the Rajiv Chowk metro station. The three fled on a two-wheeler after the assault. The police said the victim, Shivam, had gone to Connaught Place with his friend Pankaj.

According to the time stamp on the CCTV footage, two men hit Shivam on the head with a helmet and kicked him in the chest at 1.05 a.m., while the third person could be seen on a black motorcycle with an Uttarakhand registration number. A little later Shivam fell to the ground and was lying unconscious, a senior Delhi Police officer told The Hindu. “We received a PCR call around 1.35 a.m. about a man lying unconscious and bleeding in Connaught Place,” the officer said.

Shivam, a resident of Laxmi Nagar, was first taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College on January 3. His medical report noted multiple head injuries and “episodes of haematemesis (the vomiting of blood)” and stated he was under the influence of “unknown substances”. He was declared unfit to give a statement.

Mistaken identity

“Pankaj had asked one of the delivery workers for water and a matchbox. When they refused, he verbally abused them. One of the accused got agitated and called the others,” said the officer, adding that the group mistakenly targeted Shivam instead of his friend. It was Mr. Pankaj who alerted the authorities, the officer added.

The deceased’s father, Anil Gupta, told The Hindu that the police informed them about the incident around 2 a.m. “When we reached the hospital, he was unresponsive and vomiting blood,” Mr. Anil Gupta said.

The victim was shifted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on January 4 and underwent a six-hour surgery.

He died on January 19.