Man dies after police action in road rage case, kin blame cops

A 32-year-old man who was at the scene of a road rage incident in north-west Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar on early Monday died hours later, prompting his family to accuse a group of policemen present at the site of beating him to death.

The family of the victim, Suraj Prakash Pawar, said policemen present during a road rage incident in Adarsh Nagar between 2am and 3am on Monday hit him with lathis, and kicked and punched him when he tried to intervene in the scuffle, and tried to make a video of police action against him.

The police refused to respond to the allegations but confirmed that Pawar was present at the site, that he was taken to a local hospital at 4am, and that he died hours later. Police also did not clarify if Pawar was part of the scuffle, an onlooker, or if he intervened in the fight.

“…judicial enquiry into the matter is being carried out as per procedure,” said Jitendra Meena, deputy commissioner of police (north-west), in a statement.

Pawar lived with his parents and two siblings in Majlis Park, a neighbourhood close to the Azadpur Mandi in northwest Delhi. His older brother, Dev Prakash, said that Pawar, who was not married, was unemployed in recent months.

Shortly after midnight on Sunday, Pawar – who Prakash said was slightly drunk -- drove to help his friend Saket, who was only identified by his first name, to unload paneer from a truck at the Azadpur mandi, roughly 2km away.