Allahabad : A 26-year-old law student was beaten to death at a restaurant in Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad over a fight that started because his leg had brushed against one of the attackers. Dilip Saroj was thrashed with a hockey stick, a broken pipe and bricks in the savage assault caught on mobile phone camera by a passerby on Friday night.
Dilip Saroj fell unconscious and died in hospital on Saturday morning. A waiter at Kalika restaurant has been arrested. The police say the waiter, Munna Chauhan, is the one who hit Dilip on his head with an iron rod, leading to his death. The same waiter is on camera picking up the unconscious Dilip to take him to hospital.
In the mobile phone clip that records the last few moments of Dilip’s life, he is lying on the steps of the restaurant. The man filming the attack and another witness are heard saying in the video, "The police will show up only after he is dead."
A man in a brown leather jacket, apparently the owner of the restaurant, is seen trying to stop the attackers, without success.
Two policemen have also been suspended for not taking action though their patrol car was just about 100 metres from the restaurant. The restaurant’s manager had reportedly dialed the helpline 100, which should have brought the patrol car immediately to the spot.
The main accused is Vijay Shankar Singh, who reportedly works with the Indian Railways. He is missing. He and four others had fought with Dilip and his friends at the restaurant.
According to the police, the argument that ended in murder started when Dilip and his friends were sitting on the stairs outside the restaurant, waiting for their order. Vijay Shankar Singh and his friends were going inside when he brushed against Dilip. The two groups were soon shouting at each other.
Later, Vijay Shankar Singh was having dinner when Dilip and his friends went back into the restaurant to confront him. A huge brawl erupted, which continued outside the restaurant.
"At this time Munna Chauhan, the waiter, hit Dilip with an iron rod and he fell unconscious… We have interviewed Munna Chauhan. He has told us he was carrying vegetables and got caught in the scuffle. He says he was also hit and he became so angry he hit Dilip with an iron rod," said senior police officer Akash Kulhary.
