At 2 am, when a passersby saw them lying in a pool of blood, he informed police and they were taken to BJRM Hospital and later discharged.
Suresh Vohra and his friend Ashok are still shaken by the brutality with which a mob killed their 19-year-old friend Deepak Thagunna near the platform at Adarsh Nagar railway station on Sunday night. The mob threw dust in their eyes and beat them up over unfounded allegations that they were thieves.
The three men, who hail from Nepal, worked at an eatery in Netaji Subhash Place. Suresh told The Indian Express that after finishing work, they went to their rented home in Shalimar Bagh, near the station.
“Afterwards, we went out for dinner. While crossing the tracks, some people from a JJ cluster gathered and started alleging we are thieves. Others turned up with knives and sticks and started assaulting us,” said Vohra. “They threw dust in our eyes so we couldn’t escape. While beating us, they checked our pockets for money and valuables.”
“There were a lot of people around, but none came to our help. I had Rs 80, which they took,” said Ashok, adding that they were beaten for two hours and dumped near the tracks.
At 2 am, when a passersby saw them lying in a pool of blood, he informed police and they were taken to BJRM Hospital and later discharged. “When I was taking them home, Deepak complained of pain in his back. He had stab wounds on his back and thighs. I rushed him to a private hospital in Model Town, where he died during treatment,” alleged eatery owner Nitin Kumar Gadi.
Commuters near the railway tracks said the area is infamous for theft and other petty crimes. “Fights break out often,” said one commuter. Residents of the JJ cluster chose to remain silent on the incident.
DCP (railways) Parwez Ahmed said they have registered a case under IPC sections 308 (culpable homicide) and 323 (causing hurt) and launched a hunt for the accused. “It might be a case of scuffle between two sides,” said Ahmed.
