Delhi: Three beat teen to death after row over money with his father, held

According to police, the accused men owed the victim’s father, who is a member of a political party and owns a construction material shop in Rajouri Garden, Rs 1.3 lakh.

The incident took place outside his shop in Raghubir Nagar, where the victim, Suraj Pathak was also present.

Dhruv Pathak (52), the boy’s father, told The Indian Express, “Shivcharan made a purchase of Rs 3 lakh from my shop in September. He said he would not be able to pay the full amount, so I allowed him to pay in installments. He gave me Rs 1.7 lakh, but started avoiding me afterwards… On Saturday, we fixed a meeting outside my shop to discuss the matter. My son was sitting with me at the shop. Shivcharan came with his two sons and one more person. They said they would not be able to pay the amount. They asked for a discount, to which I agreed. I told them to pay at least half the amount. But they started hurling abuses at us and beat my son and me with batons.”

Police said the accused fled after the incident and were nabbed later. A case of murder has been registered at Rajouri Garden police station.

“Officers rushed to the spot and the victims were taken to a hospital. The boy died due to a head injury. The accused were arrested the same night,” said Deepak Purohit, DCP (West).

Manoj Sharma (27), an eyewitness, said, “After the boy pushed them, the men got angry, picked up a cylinder and hit him on head. He fell on the floor.”

“I sustained injuries to my head and fell on the ground after the attack. After I gained consciousness, I was told Suraj had died. I was shocked,” said Dhruv.