Burnt body, stabbings stain New Year's evening in Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) New Year's evening left a trail of blood in its wake in Delhi with three stabbings and a partially burnt body staining the start of 2026.

Bihari Lal, 50, was allegedly stabbed in an attack by a group of juveniles when he asked them to stop shouting and playing loud music in northwest Delhi's Lal Bagh area.

A tailor by profession, Bihari Lal had just returned home Thursday evening from his job in Shastri Nagar, when he was faced with a raucous mob of revellers, whom he chastised for making noise.

"This led to a heated exchange, during which one of the juveniles stabbed Lal," a police officer said, adding that one of the boys kicked the victim several times during the fight.

Bihari Lal was rushed to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Police apprehended a juvenile in connection with the killing and seized the weapon of the crime. A hunt for the rest involved in the fight is on.

An FIR was registered at the Adarsh Nagar Police Station, and investigators are examining eyewitness accounts and CCTV footage from the area.

Bihari Lal's family and neighbours alleged that the group was notorious for creating disturbance in the area.

"He had just returned from duty and was parking his cycle when they came and started abusing everyone, throwing buckets, boxes and people's belongings. Bihari Lal only told them not to use abusive language and shout, as there were women and children around. That was all he said," Dimple, a neighbour, recounted.

Pushpa, a relative, alleged that the group had been terrorising residents for some time.

"They keep throwing bottles, stones and sticks, and nobody does anything. We complained earlier, but no action was taken. The police never did anything," she said.

Pushpa said four boys were involved in the attack and "they stabbed him three times." Hours later, in outer Delhi's Mangolpuri, an e-rickshaw driver, Vikas, was stabbed in a fight.

According to police, Vikas and his friend Sandeep, a daily-wage labourer, both aged 20, were sitting together when a group of youths started a fight with them.

"During the altercation, one of the accused stabbed Vikas, causing fatal injuries. Sandeep also suffered a minor lacerated wound," an officer said.

Both were taken to a nearby hospital, where Vikas was declared dead. Preliminary investigation revealed that the victims and the attackers had bad blood.

All six accused, four of them underage, involved in the stabbing were apprehended, police said.

The same evening, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death in nearby Sultanpuri.

Around 11.30 pm, police were informed that a group of men had attacked a minor with a knife.

"A police team rushed to the spot and found the injured boy lying on the road with multiple stab wounds," an officer said.

The victim, whose identity was not revealed by the police, was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

Vikram, a man aged about 30 with a history of crime, was arrested for allegedly killing the boy.

During interrogation, Vikram, who police said has six criminal convictions, revealed that two more men were with him at the time of the stabbing. A search for them has been launched.

The boy's mother said her son had been threatened several times before by the attackers, but police took no action.

She said her son was out to buy juice when a few people started abusing him, and a fight broke out.

"I ran downstairs from my sister's house and begged them not to harm my son. Instead, they took out a knife and attacked me. I somehow ran into a shop, where I saw my son being stabbed in front of my eyes," the boy's mother, Bali, said.

She said that the accused had earlier also entered her house armed with weapons. "I informed the police, but no action was taken." The boy was her only son. The motive of the killing is yet to be ascertained by the police.

The discovery of a partially burnt body of a 38-year-old property dealer behind a field in outernorth Delhi's Narela left the police clueless.

The body, oozing blood from the head, was spotted on Thursday near a farmhouse on Lampur Road.

"A police team rushed to the spot and found the body of a man inside a fenced structure located within agricultural land," an officer said on Friday.

During a search of the spot, police found Rs 500 banknotes in a container and a mobile phone that belonged to the victim, who was identified as Bhupender alias Binu, a resident of Haryana's Sonipat district, the officer said.

Bhupender was a realtor and ran his business under the name Daksh Property with his brother. PTI BM VN VN