2 engineering students among 3 arrested for driver’s murder

GURUGRAM: Two BTech students, who are also brothers, and a professional photographer were arrested in the city on Wednesday evening for allegedly beating a driver to death following a drunken brawl.

Though the three youths — Yash Panchal (20), brother Sagar Panchal (19) and friend Amit Saini (21) — claimed that they had met the driver, Om Prakash (30), first time on Tuesday night, the victim’s brother Rajkumar alleged that the murder was the outcome of an old enmity.

Police said Yash and Sagar are 3rd year students of BTech (mechanical engineering) at DPG Institute of Technology and Management, Sector 34, while Sagar works at a photo studio. On the other hand, Prakash, a resident of Rajiv Nagar colony, used to work as a driver of a private bus, but was jobless for the past one month or so.

Preliminary probe revealed that the trio met Prakash at the parking area of the auto market behind Hotel Chaupal in Sector 12 late on Tuesday night. They were having alcohol together when a bitter argument broke out among them. As the trio started raining blows on Prakash, he climbed atop the roof of a bus parked there. The three youths followed him and later allegedly pushed him from the bus roof. They then dragged him on the road and kept punching and kicking him till he lost consciousness.

Prakash was found dead near the parking area early on Wednesday morning.

Later, Rajkumar told police he had seen Yash, Sagar and Amit, all residents of

Patel Nagar Colony

in adjoining Sector 15, having drinks with Prakash at the parking area on Tuesday night. He alleged the trio forced Prakash to have excessive alcohol and thrashed him to death to settle an old score.

“My brother was drinking with the three around 11pm. An hour later, when my father and I went there to call him, he was not there. The three youths were also missing. It was only early in the morning we found the body,” Rajkumar told to police.

Later, based on a complaint filed by Prakash’s father Vijay Pal, the Civil Line police lodged an FIR under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC and subsequently picked them up. “They will be produced in court on Thursday,” said inspector Jitendra Rana, SHO, Civil Line station.