Two men murdered during drunken brawls in Manimajra

Two men in their late 20s were murdered by their fellow workers following separate drunken brawls in Manimajra in the wee hours of Monday.

Both victims were having drinks with their colleagues into the morning, when altercations erupted and ended with their murders, both with sharp-edged weapons, said police.

In the first case, the victim, Hemant Patel, 29, was a salesman at a liquor vend near NAC, Manimajra. He hailed from Uttar Pradesh.

The accused, identified as Karan Thakur, alias Avi, 25, of Amritsar, has been arrested.

According to police, the accused, along with other liquor vend workers, including Patel, was having drinks inside the shuttered shop around 2.45 am.

While drinking, an altercation broke out between Thakur and Patel, who exchanged blows with each other, before they were sent outside by the other staff.

“After they were ousted from the liquor vend, their brawl became more violent, when Thakur smashed a beer bottle on Patel’s head and stabbed him in the stomach, causing fatal injuries,” a police officer said.

After Patel collapsed, Thakur, along with another man, rushed him to the Manimajra civil hospital in a car around 3.30 am. But the doctors declared Patel dead, following which both men escaped from the hospital.

After receiving information, Manimajra police responded to the scene, with a team of the crime branch and forensic examiners, who collected evidence, including fingerprints.

Police gathered CCTV footage from the spot that showed the accused, victim and other men drinking inside the liquor vend.

Within hours, police traced Thakur and arrested him. Meanwhile during interrogation, the crime branch didn’t find criminal involvement of the other worker, who accompanied Thakur to the hospital. “The other man was in Manimajra to visit a cousin. He was detained, but is not involved in the murder, so he will be released,” an officer said. Patel’s family in Uttar Pradesh has been informed.

The same night, a 28-year-old motor mechanic was stabbed to death by his colleague near Shankar A/C Motor market in Manimajra, said police.

The victim, Lakhbir Singh of Indira Colony, Manimajra, was found lying unconscious by a passer-by around 4.30 am on Monday.

After being informed, PCR cops took Singh to PGIMER, Chandigarh, but doctors declared him dead. The accused in the case, Sunny, was arrested later in the day.

According to sources, the victim was having drinks with Sunny, also a mechanic, in the market on Sunday night.

“An argument broke out between the two and Sunny stabbed Singh in the back with a sharp-edged weapon,” a cop privy to the investigation said.

The victim is survived by his pregnant wife, whom he had married last year.

Police have booked both accused under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at the Manimajra police station.