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Journalism of Courage
For parking attendant Manoj Kumar, who works at Basant Lok market in Southwest Delhi, arguments with vehicle owners over paying the fee is not new. On Wednesday night, however, things took a turn for the worse when his colleague, Vikas Thakur (34), was beaten up by a car owner after he asked him to pay the parking fee.
“We were only asking for the rightful parking fee that the accused ought to have paid… nothing more or less… After the accused became agitated and started threatening us, I got scared and asked Thakur to let them go without paying as things might escalate… A few minutes later, we saw the accused taking out a bat from his car and approaching us.
He started chasing Thakur from the parking lot… I was at a juice shop nearby and when I saw Singh coming towards us, even I started running in fear,” Kumar, who has worked as a parking attendant in the city for 20 years now, told The Indian Express.
“The accused chased both of us for around 250 metres through the market after which he eventually caught hold of Thakur and started beating him repeatedly on the head with his bat. I stood helplessly and was screaming for help, but no one came forward despite the marking brimming with people… The accused thrashed Vikas for several minutes before rushing back to his car and fleeing the spot… there was another person present with him in the car,” Kumar alleged. The market includes several upscale restaurants and retail shops.
Kumar said things have never escalated to this extent in the past. “There have always been incidents of drivers having a verbal scuffle with us over not paying the parking fee and we never escalate the situation and always let them go… But never have things escalated so much… Vikas worked a 10-hour shift here and is the most loyal and efficient employee. He always tried to ensure that commuters who park their car in the area pay the fee.”
Thakur’s family, meanwhile, is in shock over the incident. His wife, Shobha Devi (32), said she last spoke to him 30 minutes before the incident after which she received a call from Kumar, stating that her husband had sustained injuries to his head and other body parts.
“My family depends on my husband… his condition is still critical and he has undergone two surgeries for treatment of injuries on the back of his head…,” she said.
Thakur’s family members said he came to Delhi from Jharkhand’s Chatra district in 2005 in search of a job. “After coming to Delhi, he started working as a parking attendant and also works as a part-time driver on his days off. He has three children, aged 11, 8 and 5, to look after… he earned around Rs 15,000 to Rs 17,000, most of which he used to send home,” said his brother-in-law Ratan Sharma.
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