Delhi: Watchman's hit-and-run killing could be planned; footage captures SUV with no number plate

A 60-year-old watchman was brutally killed in Outer Delhi's Peeragarhi village, with police suspecting a planned attack linked to attempted theft, enmity, or a dispute over a tempo stand.

The killing of a 60-year-old watchman by a car driver in Outer Delhi's Peeragarhi village appears to be ''more planned than spontaneous'', police said on Monday.

The culprit fled in the SUV with no number plate after repeatedly running over the man, making identification difficult, they said.

The police said investigators are probing attempted theft, previous enmity and a dispute linked to the tempo stand where the victim worked.

CCTV footage has captured the movement of the SUV, which was last seen near Hiran Kudna on the Delhi-Haryana border, he said.

The victim, Bijender Bhardwaj, worked as a watchman at a tempo stand in Peeragarhi village. He was alone at the spot when he was attacked around 2.54 am on Sunday, according to the CCTV footage.

''The man was first beaten with sticks and then run over three to four times by the SUV,'' an officer said.

According to investigators, footage shows an SUV parked near the tempo stand with its headlights on while Bhardwaj sat on a chair.

A man is later seen stepping out carrying a stick and attacking him. As Bhardwaj tries to flee, the man gets behind the wheel, knocks him down, and runs him over a few times before driving away.

The police said the absence of a registration number plate on the SUV has emerged as a major challenge in tracing the driver.

''While all angles are being probed, the murder appears more planned than spontaneous, unlike a typical road rage case,'' the officer said. ''There is a possibility of previous enmity or that the deceased may have objected to theft or suspicious activity in the area, following which the accused took revenge.''.

Speaking to reporters, Mukesh Bhardwaj, the younger brother of the deceased, alleged that the attackers deliberately targeted him while he was on duty.

''He was sitting peacefully on his chair when a man got out of the car and beat him with sticks. Then the SUV reversed and rammed into him from three sides,'' he said.

''Around 3 am, we received a call from another chowkidar informing us about the incident. He was alone there at that time. There was no past enmity with anyone. Maybe there had been some argument earlier. They might have tried to steal something, and my brother may have stopped them,'' he added.

Family members also alleged lapses in the initial police response.

The victim's granddaughter claimed that police at first treated the matter as a road accident despite the family insisting it was murder.

''We told the police from the beginning that it was murder, but they first registered it as an accident case. Later, murder charges were added. They (accused) had planned the whole thing. My grandfather had been working there for nearly a year,'' she alleged.

The police said more than eight teams have been formed to crack the case, and multiple CCTV footage from nearby roads, intersections and commercial establishments are being scanned.

Skid marks at the spot suggest the SUV braked during the attack, investigators said.

A case under Section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered at Paschim Vihar West Police Station.