A student was stabbed to death on Thursday near the gate of an apartment in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar Extension area, The Indian Express reported. The student, identified as 25-year-old Prashant Singh, had reportedly gone to meet an acquaintance in an apartment complex when a group of six to seven men attacked him with knives.
Singh dropped out of an engineering course at Babu Banarasi Das University and was preparing for competitive exams. Another student of the university, Arpan Shukla, has been booked for his murder.
Police said the victim had an argument on Wednesday night with some people at a restaurant in Safedabad town, around 25 km from Lucknow. “We have found that two groups of youth had an altercation at a restaurant last night,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Somen Barma said. “This incident is suspected to be a result of it. We are probing it.”
Witnesses said as soon as Singh arrived in a car with his driver and stopped at the gate of Alaknanda Apartments, the assilaints stabbed him in the chest. The security guard of the apartment, Ashok Kumar Soni, told the newspaper four people arrived at the gate around 4 pm. “They said they have been invited to a birthday party at house No 506 in M block,” he added. “I rang at the house and was told there is no party there. I again asked them where they wanted to go and they threatened me.” He added that his supervisor then came and that the visitors started arguing with him.
“Minutes later, a car from the society came and I opened the gate,” Soni said. “As I was closing the gate, a speeding car reached the gate. I asked it to stop and started noting down the number. Before I could understand anything, the four men shouted “yehi hai woh [he is the one]” and took out knives. One of them broke the window and the rear windshield of the car. They then pulled the man out and stabbed him. They fled on bikes.”
He said that the victim ran after the attack and fell in the corridor and died.
Singh’s driver said he was also beaten up by the accused. “When I reached here, around 10-15 people were waiting,” he added. “As soon we came, they pulled Prashant out and stabbed him.”
Lucknow Police Commissioner Sujit Pandey told PTI a team has been formed to investigate the case. “We are going through CCTV footage and hope that the accused will be arrested soon,” he said.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!