Ex-BJP corporator's son killed on hospital campus in Vadodara; five held

Vadodara: The son of a former BJP corporator was stabbed to death by a criminal and his eight accomplices on the campus of a government hospital in Gujarat's Vadodara city in the wee hours of Monday, police said.

The police have arrested the main accused, Babar Pathan, and five of his accomplices, and eight teams have been formed to nab three others, Vadodara police commissioner Narsimha Komar said.

According to the police, Pathan and his gang attacked Tapan Parmar (35) when he came to meet his friends, who were injured in a scuffle with the accused and were admitted at Sir Sayajirao General (SSG) Hospital on Sunday night.

Tapan, a resident of the Nagarwada area, was the son of former BJP corporator Ramesh Parmar, who was also in the hospital at the time of the attack, they said.

Around 9.30 pm, Tapan learnt about a scuffle involving Pathan, a resident of Nagarwada, and his friends Divyang Parmar and his brother Vikram, an FIR registered at Raopura police station stated.

Pathan allegedly attacked the Parmar brothers with a knife and injured them during the scuffle in Nagarwada, and they were admitted to the hospital, it said.

"On learning about his injured friends, Tapan came to the hospital. Meanwhile, Pathan approached Karelibaug police station with a complaint that some persons had attacked him in Nagarwada. To mislead the police, he did not reveal anything about the scuffle with the brothers," Komar said.

He said police in Karelibaug were also unaware of Pathan's attack on two men because there was no message from SSG Hospital about the injured men.

While talking to police, Pathan complained of uneasiness and vomiting and was taken to SSG Hospital for a check-up, the official said.

"After reaching the hospital with police, Pathan, with the help of his gang, allegedly attacked and killed Tapan near the canteen. He was not in police custody at the time. Pathan and five of his accomplices were arrested, while three are yet to be nabbed, the commissioner said.

As per the FIR registered by Raopura police station, Pathan and his gang allegedly stabbed Tapan around 1 am when he was having tea at the canteen with his friend Mitesh Rajput, a complainant in this case.

Pathan allegedly stabbed Tapan in his chest and abdomen with a knife. Although he was immediately rushed inside the hospital, he could not be saved, it stated.