SHOCKING: Amateur Delhi cricketer dies after being attacked by local gang

Akash Nakkam, 22, reportedly got into a scuffle with the main accused, Laxman, on July 12. On July 17, he was playing a local cricket match when the gang came again, and they beat him up in the bushes with hockey sticks and a iron rod.

“Laxman and some of his friends came to our house. My brother wasn’t home at the time. They made threats against Akash but I did not take them seriously," victim’s elder brother Sunny told the Indian Express.

Sunny said at 5.30 pm on Saturday, some locals told him his brother was lying unconscious in a park located a kilometre away from their home.

“When I got there, he was still breathing. I rushed him to hospital,” Sunny added.

Akash’s friend Rahul, who was with him when the incident happened, said they were playing cricket in Thimayya Park when 10 people turned up to beat Akash.

“Akash ran from the spot. Near Sadar Bazaar signal, he pleaded with two traffic policemen to save him but he panicked and ran again. The policemen managed to catch three of them, but the others managed to escape," he narrated.

Police, however, said the victim and the accused had some old rivalry.

“There was an old rivalry between them. On Saturday, the victim and his friend had gone to play cricket in a nearby park when they were confronted by Laxman and his associates. Laxman hit the victim with a rod, due to which he suffered internal injuries. Doctors told us Akash died due to internal bleeding," DCP (southwest) Surender Kumar told the newspaper.

The victim was staying at his grandmother’s house in a JJ Colony in Delhi Cantonment, while the accused lived in the nearby area.

(With Agency inputs)