According to victim Karunesh Sharma’s family, he was trying to make peace with a group of youths who wanted space to park their car. Sharma’s wife Sita Reena said she and their daughter had gone into a restaurant in Sector 18 to get food packed, while Sharma waited for them in his car. “There was no driver in the car in front, so my husband could not budge,” she said. “But people in the car right behind him, a Maruti Zen, kept honking and shouting at my husband to move away and give them space to park.

“We tried telling them they would easily be able to park in our slot as we were about to leave, but they were not to be deterred. Suddenly, a man in the Maruti Zen pulled out an iron rod and hit my husband on his head and fingers — he fainted on the spot.”

She said the family took Sharma to the district hospital with the help of the police. He was later referred to Kailash Hospital in Noida.