Capital rage continues: Man killed after quarrel over liquor

NEW DELHI - In continuing incidents of rage in the capital, a man was beaten to death by two of his friends after he abused them for bringing lesser liquor then he wanted, police said Friday. The assailants have been arrested.

“We had found a dead body lying in a pool of blood in a room at Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) office in Alipur (in north Delhi) Dec 31. The victim had injuries on his head and temple,” said a police official.

Police recovered SIM cards and a diary from the victim’s pocket and identified the deceased as Jitender, a 35-year-old hailing from Haryana. Further scrutiny of the papers and verification of his call details led them to the accused, said police.

Deepak Kumar, 20, from Nepal and Hori Lal, 20 a resident of Uttar Pradesh were arrested from Alipur. Both worked as contract labourers in parties and marriages and confessed to have murdered Jitender after a spat during a drink session Dec 30.

“The trio consumed one bottle of country-made liquor and subsequently bought half a bottle more. But the victim, unhappy with the purchase of less quantity of liquor, started abusing the duo,” added the official.

The two overpowered Jitender and beat him but he managed to escape from their clutches and tried to hide in a room in the nearby MCD office.

The duo however were determined to teach him a lesson and chased him into the room.

“Deepak held the victim’s hands while Hori Lal battered him with a piece of brick. We have recovered a blood-stained brick and slippers of the deceased from the bushes near the spot where the murder took place,” added the official.

The case comes days after four people stabbed a 17-year-old to death and injured his brother in north Delhi because they were denied a screwdriver at a mobile phone shop.

In a case of road rage Tuesday, a restaurant manager was crushed to death under the wheels of a Jet Airways pilot’s car after their vehicles grazed each other in the upscale Khan market.

In December 2010, a plate of chicken tikkas claimed the life of a young software professional in Rohini who was shot dead after he accidentally knocked down the plate.

Last year, a 42-year-old driver of a chartered bus was mercilessly stoned to death because a restless bunch in a Qualis could not overtake the vehicle.

The latest Delhi Police statistics show that killings over trivial issues became commonplace in the capital in 2010 - be it eating from a vendor without paying money, petty quarrel among children, dispute among roommates over keeping keys to the room and using mobile phone to call someone.