Manipuri youth beaten to death in Delhi; 2 detained

In yet another case of violence against people from the Northeast, a 29-year-old Manipuri youth was allegedly beaten to death by a group of five to six men in South Delhi's Kotla Mubarakpur area in the wee hours of the day.

Two persons have been detained in this connection and police sources claimed that the case would be solved soon.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) B S Jaiswal said there was "no provocation" from the part of the victim, Shaloni, who was currently living in Munirka in South Delhi.

The incident took place around 3 am when Shaloni had gone to the area to drop a friend to his home.

"When the duo reached Gurudwara road, a Maruti Alto car arrived on the spot. Five to six men alighted from the car and thrashed Shaloni. A PCR call was made at about 3:30 am following which he was rushed to All India Institute of

Medical Science trauma centre where doctors declared him brought dead," said a police official.

Police seized the CCTV footage from the area and also analysed the call records of the victim to verify whether the attackers were known to him.

"Several teams have been formed which were working on various leads in the case. Two persons have been detained in this connection and they are being questioned. We expect to crack the case soon," the official said.

"We have registered a case and investigation has been taken up. He was attacked by 5-6 men. There was no provocation on the part of the deceased," Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) B S Jaiswal said.

Shaloni lived in Munirka area and was presently unemployed.

His body has been preserved for a postmortem examination which will be conducted after his family arrives in Delhi. A medical board is likely to be constituted for the autopsy.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said the repeated attacks on the people of Northeastern states in Delhi was a matter of "great concern" for the government.

"The attack seems to be well-coordinated and pre-planned. Police have already obtained some of the footage of the incident," he said on Monday's incident, adding that he was in touch with Delhi police.

A 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh, Nido Tania, was allegedly beaten to death by a group of men in Lajpat Nagar area in January last year sparking off widespread outrage.

In February, a 14-year-old girl from Manipur was allegedly raped by her landlord's son in South Delhi's Munirka area.

In March, a girl and her cousin hailing from Manipur were allegedly attacked by two men who thrashed them, hurled racial abuses and molested the girl.

Image: Students scuffle with security personnel during a protest in New Delhi against attack on people from northeast India. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters