A former IAS officer, Sanjay Pratap Singh, and his son, Sidharth Singh, a lawyer practising at the Supreme Court, have been arrested for their role in a fight over a seat inside a Delhi Metro train that led to the death of a 48-year-old man, police said. The incident took place on October 8 at the Supreme Court Metro station. Sanjay Pratap Singh was earlier arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a bribery case.
STORY | Man dies after alleged assault over seat inside Delhi Metro; ex-IAS officer, son arrested A 48-year-old man died after he was allegedly slapped and pushed during a dispute over a seat reserved for senior citizens inside a Delhi Metro train, police said on Sunday. A former IAS officer and his son have been arrested in connection with the case, police sources said. READ: https://t.co/owJTS7lQmF
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The deceased, Pawan Sharma, worked as a clerk at a private firm. He was travelling with his 65-year-old mother, Durga Devi, when a dispute over a seat reserved for senior citizens turned violent. Police have arrested both father and son after examining the circumstances surrounding the incident.
How a seat dispute turned deadly
According to the FIR, Pawan and his mother were returning to their home in Yamuna Vihar after visiting his younger brother in Gurugram. The father-son duo boarded the Metro at Mandi House station, where a disagreement began over the seats reserved for senior citizens.
A senior police officer said Pawan and his mother were sitting on the designated seats when Sanjay and Sidharth asked them to vacate them. The argument soon turned into a physical fight.
In her complaint, Durga Devi told police that the two men boarded the train at Mandi House and rudely asked her son to leave the seat. Pawan agreed to get up but asked them to speak politely. After he stood up, he made a sarcastic remark, telling the two men that they could now lie down on the seat.
According to the complaint, Sanjay then slapped Pawan, while his son punched him in the chest. Durga Devi also said that when she tried to intervene, the older man held her hand as her son was being beaten.
The situation took a serious turn after the passengers reached the Supreme Court Metro station. Police received information at 5.47 pm on October 8 that a man had fallen unconscious on Platform No. 1. Metro staff arranged an ambulance and shifted Pawan to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The case was registered on October 9 following a complaint by Pawan’s mother. The FIR includes Section 105, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and Section 3(5), which concerns acts done with common intention, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
A Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official said both men were removed from the train after the incident came to light. The injured man was sent to the hospital, while the other person was handed over to the police.
Police said the involvement of Sanjay and Sidharth came under scrutiny during the investigation. Both were arrested after the police examined the available evidence. The father and son are residents of Gautam Budh Nagar.
Police are continuing their investigation into the circumstances that led to Pawan’s death. Further details about the medical findings and the exact cause of death have not been made public.
Ex-IAS officer was earlier arrested in a bribery case
Sanjay Pratap Singh, a 1984-batch IAS officer who served as principal secretary in the Delhi government’s department for the welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities, was earlier arrested by the CBI in a bribery case.
The agency detained Singh and his personal assistant after they were accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 2.2 lakh from a manpower supplier whose firm provided security guards and peons to the department.
During searches, the CBI recovered 31 gold bars weighing around 3.2 kg and valued at more than Rs 80 lakh from a bank locker linked to Singh. The agency also found around 800 grams of silver, nearly 300 bottles of expensive liquor, including Blue Label and Glenmorangie, and watches from brands such as Rolex and Rado.
The CBI also recovered documents relating to eight properties worth several crores of rupees in the National Capital Region. These included three properties in Noida, two each in Greater Noida and Gurugram, and one in Safdarjung Enclave in south Delhi.
The agency investigated whether Singh owned assets beyond his known sources of income and whether the bribe was part of regular payments for clearing departmental bills. Singh’s past arrest in the bribery case has now come into focus following his arrest in connection with Pawan Sharma’s death.
