Saddled with debt and two mentally ill brothers, Vikas Thakur, who was assaulted with a cricket bat by a drunk man near PVR Priya, will now be bedridden for six months having undergone surgeries in head, and a fracture in backbone, according to a relative who spoke to the doctors.
Pathak, a parking attendant, was brutally assaulted Wednesday evening by a man, a physical education teacher, when he asked him to pay Rs 60 in parking charges.
"Doctors told us in the morning that it will take at least six months for Vikas Thakur to walk," Subhash Singh, an uncle of 34-year-old Pathak, said.
"They have done two surgeries, on both sides of his head. They said the surgeries were successful. Thakur has received a crack in his backbone. He is semiconscious, but responding through his hands. He is not able to speak," Singh told PTI.
The patient has undergone a surgical procedure and is in ICU presently. He is stable, a source said.
Singh is a supervisor at the parking lot in Vasant Vihar area of south Delhi where the incident happened. He was at a temple nearby, when his nephew was assaulted.
"When the incident happened, I was sitting at a temple which is near the spot. The man was in a drunken state and refused to give the parking charges. He even abused the attendants. He took out a cricket bat and ran behind Thakur and another attendant, Manoj Kumar.
"Kumar managed to save himself, but Thakur was beaten with a bat," he said, adding, there were 50-60 people around the spot but no one came to his nephew's rescue.
"We took him to AIIMS Trauma Centre where he is undergoing treatment. It took the man only 10 minutes from abusing, assaulting, and fleeing in his car," Singh said.
There have been rows before at the parking lot, but none like this, he said.
Thakur's wife, with her brother, flew to Delhi as soon as she heard about the assault, borrowing Rs 25,000 for airfare and other expenses.
Back home, he has a mother, three kids -- two sons and a daughter -- and two brothers who are undergoing mental treatment at a hospital in Ranchi, Jharkhand, Singh said.
"Thakur earlier used to work as a driver in Kishangarh, but was sacked during the coronavirus pandemic, after his employer lost his job. Later, he went back to his home," Singh said.
Thakur had returned to Delhi 3-4 months ago and got the job of a parking attendant. He drives too in his spare time to make extra money.
"He belongs to a poor family. His sister's husband attacked her around two years ago. Thakur took a loan of Rs 2 lakh and was spending it on his sister’s treatment and a court case.
"He has already repaid Rs 50,000 and was in the process of returning the remaining amount, and now, this happened. Our employer has assured his wife that he will help them get treated," Singh said.
Thakur's wife on Saturday rented a room in southwest Delhi's Kusumpur Pahari area to stay near her husband while he recovers.
Vikram Jeet Singh, a resident of Mehrauli, has since been arrested for thrashing Thakur under charges of attempt to murder.
During the inquiry, Manoj Kumar, another parking attendant, said Vikram Jeet Singh had parked his Honda Amaze at the lot around 7 pm and returned drunk around 9.30 pm . When Kumar asked him to pay Rs 60 in parking charges, he was cussed at, which impelled Thakur to intervene in the matter.