Man beaten to death at Shahdara railway station over coach entry dispute, eight held
A 35-year-old security guard was beaten to death by fellow passengers at the Shahdara railway station in East Delhi on Saturday after a dispute broke out over him blocking the entrance to a train coach. Police have detained eight suspects in connection with the fatal assault.
The victim, identified as Pankaj Dhama, worked as a security guard at the IP Extension Metro Station. He was preparing to board the Yoga Express to return to his home in Khekda village, located in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district, when the altercation began.
According to the police, a group of angry passengers repeatedly punched and kicked Dhama because he was allegedly blocking the coach's entryway. Personnel from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) intervened to rescue him from the crowd and shifted him to the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Following the incident, the Government Railway Police (GRP) detained eight suspected passengers at the Muzaffarnagar Railway Station. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) Bharat Reddy said the suspects are being brought back to Delhi for questioning to verify their identities and determine their specific roles in the assault.
The police have registered a case under Sections 105 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the ODRS Police Station. DCP Reddy added that further investigation is underway to establish the individual culpability of each suspect.
Dhama was the sole breadwinner for his family. He is survived by his wife, a six-year-old son, and a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. His brother, Vijender Dhama, shared that the family learned of the tragedy through their elder brother.
Vijender alleged that the railway police present at the station failed to assist his brother immediately after the attack. He claimed that Dhama was left lying on the platform until two of his colleagues wrapped him in a bedsheet and rushed him to the hospital.
In response, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, the Chief Public Relations Officer, stated that a GRP constable had separated the two sides during the dispute. Upadhyay maintained that the injured man, who had become unconscious, was immediately taken to the nearest hospital where he was declared dead.
