Academy manager held for lynching youth mistaken for molester’s aide

Gurgaon: Manjeet, a manager at the badminton academy where a 21-year-old migrant worker was allegedly beaten to death on Monday afternoon, was arrested on Friday. Police said Manjeet is the prime suspect in the killing of Anuj Kumar, who was allegedly thrashed for nearly three hours before he collapsed and passed away.
Manjeet, according to police, had brought Kumar and his brother-in-law Sanjay to the academy, tied them to poles and beaten them with sticks and rods after they were mistakenly identified by a 17-year-old badminton trainee as the accomplice of a biker who had molested her on the road the same day. Binda Prasad, a cleaner at the academy, had allegedly helped Manjeet. Binda was arrested on Tuesday.
Police said the beatings, in a frenzy of rage, continued in spite of the workers pleading that they had neither harassed the girl nor did they know anyone who had done so. Anuj, who had come to Gurgaon from UP’s Jaunpur looking for a job last month, succumbed to the injuries on the spot.
Manjeet, who is related to the badminton academy owner, was arrested from a house in Basai on Friday morning, police said. He is among three persons named in the FIR. The other two are Punit, who runs a canteen at the academy, and Manish, a coach. Police said they have so far not found any evidence to prove that Manish was directly involved in the murder. He was not present at the academy then, a police officer said.
On Monday afternoon, the badminton trainee was returning to her hostel from tuition classes when she was allegedly harassed by the biker. She took refuge in a nearby house and called up Manish, her coach. Manish called up Manjit and asked him to rush to the spot.
Anuj and Sanjay happened to be there at the same time, waiting for a contractor who had promised Anuj a job. After being mistakenly identified as the molester’s accomplices, Manjit and others allegedly bundled Anuj and Sanjay into a car and took them to the academy.
When the workers said they were waiting for plumbing contractor Chandan, Manjeet and Punit, the eatery owner, allegedly went out again, caught hold of Chandan and brought him to the academy. Chandan, too, was roughed up.
Since the academy was closed that day, police said they were finding it difficult to gather witnesses. They have not been able to access CCTV footage either as the assailants took the digital video recorder with them. “Trainees were not present at the academy as it was closed that day. However, 10-15 people had gathered to witness the assault,” ACP (crime) Preet Pal Sangwan said.
According to the senior police officer, Manjeet had taken it upon himself to “settle the issue” and teach the migrant workers a lesson. “He had a perception and assaulted them for hours. In the process, one of the persons died,” Sangwan said.
Sanjay had earlier told TOI earlier that their attackers used casteist slurs while beating them up. “They should have just handed them over to the police if they had any doubts. It is the police’s job to investigate. Only the court has the power to punish someone,” the ACP said.