Cops nabs two prime accused, remain mum on circumstances leading to victim's death

Five days after an e-rickshaw driver was reportedly beaten to death by a mob, Delhi Police have arrested the two Delhi University students who had orchestrated the mob attack

However, cops remain tight-lipped about the public urination angle in the story, after the accused reportedly told cops that the e-rickshaw driver was the one urinating in public.

The district police had previously claimed that the e-rickshaw driver Ravinder Kumar had objected to the two accused Shekhar Kapasia and a minor boy – both students of Delhi University – urinating in public.

On Saturday, after a confrontation with Kumar, the students visited Kirori Mal College for an examination. Later, they decided to avenge their humiliation by orchestrating the mob attack.

However, police sources told Millennium Post that the initial police version may have been riddled with inconsistencies.

When Kapasia, who had fled to Muzzafarnagar, was picked up, he told police that he and the minor were the ones who had objected to Ravinder urinating in public, after which the confrontation took place.

"I did not urinate in public. These are false allegations. We were abused by the e-rickshaw driver and I was not the one urinating in public, he was," said Kapasia, while speaking to the media.

When Joint Commissioner of Police (Northern Range) Rajesh Khurana was confronted on the alleged discrepancies in the case, he replied, "Considering the investigation in the case and the details which are emerging. It would not be right commenting on the case. The fight had started as a verbal brawl, and it soon escalated into the brutal attack".

Police sources also told Millennium Post that the verbal spat soon evolved into a caste argument.

Both the accused and the deceased reportedly belong to the Gujjar community and had tried to intimidate each other by showcasing their caste superiority.

Kapasia, a student from Aurobindo College and the minor, who studies at Kirori Mal College, had reportedly planned the attack after the verbal spat.

Kapasia had mobilised around a dozen men over phone, who had come to avenge the humiliation. Kapasia then fled to his native village in Muzzafarnagar to evade the police. After he was picked up, the minor was also identified and apprehended from Delhi.

Police are now on the look-out for other members of the mob.