Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: In a suspected case of road rage, a 36-year-old businessman has died after allegedly being beaten with a helmet by two food-delivery riders during a brawl in Connaught Place last month. Police have arrested the two men. The deceased, Shivam Gupta, lived with his parents in Laxmi Nagar and ran a construction business with his brother-in-law. The incident occurred in the early hours of Jan 3 when Gupta, returning from a party with a friend, was walking near the Rajiv Chowk metro station in the E-block parking area.
Police said he brushed against the handle of an approaching bike, leading to an argument, after which the accused allegedly assaulted him with their helmets and fled, leaving him bleeding on the pavement. Gupta, critically injured, underwent multiple medical procedures across hospitals and briefly showed signs of recovery before he died on Jan 19. His father, Anil Kant Gupta, who runs garment shops, said CCTV footage shown to him by police featured three men — a detail also recorded in the FIR. However, officers told him only two men were directly involved in the assault and have been arrested, while the third allegedly handed over the helmet used in the attack. Distraught, the father said, “All I want is that no innocent man is punished and no guilty man walks free.” Fighting back tears, he added, “My son was known to make peace between people. He never instigated anyone. He was on a call and simply tried to block a bike coming towards him… and they attacked him.”He added that his daughter had moved out after her marriage, and Shivam’s death has now left the elderly couple alone with no one to look after them.
