34-year-old man beaten to death with cricket bat in Gurugram

A 34-year-old man was beaten to death with a cricket bat in New Palam Vihar Phase II in Gurgaon early Tuesday morning following a petty dispute involving his friend’s driver, police said.

The deceased, identified as Bhup Singh, was a manager at a noted real estate firm, resided in Block-E of New Palam Vihar. Police identified the prime suspect as Anish Kumar, who was apprehended in Bajghera within six hours of the murder. Kumar worked as a driver for Singh’s friend Pradeep Singh, a transporter for a logistics firm, officers aware of the case said.

Station house officer (Bajghera) inspector Ashok Kumar said that Bhup and Pradeep were close friends and neighbors.

“On Monday night, the two, along with at least five other friends, had gathered at Pradeep Singh’s residence for a party,” he said.

Around 3.30am, as the group was leaving, Kumar advised Pradeep, who was drunk, not to go out, said the SHO.

“It was at this moment when Bhup, who was also intoxicated, made a disparaging comment about Kumar being a driver and told him to stay in his limits and not interfere. This led to an altercation, and in a fit of rage, Kumar picked up a cricket bat and assaulted Bhup on the head multiple times before anyone could intervene,” he said.

Bhup collapsed on the spot and was rushed by his friends to Manipal Hospital in Palam Vihar, where doctors declared him dead, investigators said. Kumar fled the scene but was later arrested from a location in Bajghera, where he was hiding, they added.

An FIR was registered against Kumar based on a complaint by Bhup’s brother, Satish Kumar, under sections 103(1) (murder), 3(5) (common intention), and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Bajghera police station. The police handed over Bhup’s body to his family after an autopsy on Tuesday and recovered the bat used in the assault from the scene, investigators revealed.