Four men took out a Deity's trident in a temple to stab a man several times till he breathed his last in South-East Delhi's Ambedkar Nagar.
The incident took place on Thursday at around 10 pm when the deceased, Permal, a resident of south Delhi's Dakshinpuri area went to the temple with his wife.
The accused, R. Sriniwas, R. Shekhar and R. Nateshan have been arrested from their hideouts during late night raids while one of their associates is still at large.
"Permal, 30, visited the temple with his wife. Some of his friends who were also inside the temple got into a brawl over personal animosity with the accused men," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baaniya.
When Permal's wife tried to intervene she was allegedly beaten up.
Hearing his cries, the locals rushed to the spot. But, by then the assailants had fled
the spot. "When Permal intervened, Sriniwas, Shekhar, Nateshan and another associate attacked and stabbed him with a trident and knives over a dozen of times until he collapsed.
His wife raised the alarm with the local residents and the police," the cop added.
Permal was taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre where he succumbed to his injuries, said Baaniya. Permal, who worked as a car cleaner was involved in a fight with the accused over a trivial issue last year.
Also, he had filed a police complaint against them.