New Delhi:
A 49-year-old street vendor was allegedly strangled to death with a belt after a minor altercation near the AIIMS Metro station in south Delhi, with the accused being overpowered by bystanders and handed over to police, an official said on Sunday.
The victim, Manoj Singh, a native of Mai village in Bihar’s Nawada, had been selling clothes on a pavement outside Gate No. 3 of Safdarjung Hospital for around two decades. He died during treatment at Safdarjung Hospital after the attack, police said.
The accused, identified as Lokesh (40), a resident of Taimur Nagar, was arrested on the spot after passersby caught him and informed police.
The incident took place on the night of July 23 near Gate No. 3 of the AIIMS Metro station on Aurobindo Marg.
According to the police, a PCR call reporting a quarrel was received at Hauz Khas police station, following which a police team rushed to the spot and shifted the injured Singh to Safdarjung Hospital. He later succumbed to his injuries.
A case of murder has been registered at Hauz Khas police station, and further investigation is underway.
Police said preliminary investigation revealed that the incident stemmed from a minor verbal altercation at a nearby bus stand, which escalated into a physical fight.
Bittu Kumar, the victim’s son, said his father had been working as a street vendor selling clothes outside Safdarjung Hospital for nearly 20 years.
“At around 10 pm, my father was returning home after wrapping up the day’s work. An intoxicated man deliberately bumped into him near the metro station and started picking a fight. My father tried to avoid the confrontation and walked away, but the man followed him, removed his belt and strangulated him from behind,” Bittu alleged.
He said people present at the spot caught the accused and handed him over to police, while his father, who had fallen unconscious, was taken to the hospital.
“We got to know about the incident around 11 pm that night. My father had been earning his livelihood by selling clothes on the roadside for the last 20 years,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
