Mohali Parking Brawl: Scientist Dies After Violent Attack :

A parking dispute ultimately led to the death of a 39-year-old scientist in Mohali, Punjab on Tuesday night. The victim, Dr. Abhishek Swarnkar, was assaulted by his neighbor outside of his rented home in Sector 67, Mohali.

Dr. Swarnkar worked as a researcher at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER). Monty, the suspect, forcefully threw the victim to the ground and began violently punching him in the chest on three different occasions. This incident occurred around 8:30 pm after Dr. Swarnkar returned from work and parked his motorcycle. An altercation ensued between him and Monty, which turned violent and resulted in the suspect pushing the victim to the ground.

“A few individuals were screaming so I went to see what was going on. What I saw next was Monty violently attacking Abhishek by repeatedly punching him in the chest while he was on the ground,” Roma, a resident of the local area told the Time of India. She went on to tell them, “When Abhishek passed out, Monte got frightened and took him to the hospital.” The whole fight is said to have been witnessed on CCTV.

The suspect transferred the victim to a private hospital in Sector 62 where he died later on. While filing for the hospital, Monty reportedly hit a car parked near his house.

Swarnkar had recently returned from Switzerland where he worked for quite some time. He had just joined IISER as a project scientist and had undergone a kidney transplant recently so he was on dialysis.

The scientist's family is keen on seeking justice against the IT professional who has been accused. Police have informally said that a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder has been registered.

The famil said that the claim is of homicide and police received it as so. They further believe that the body deserves the postmortem examination it has not received, this autopsy will happen on Thursday. It is expected that further action will be undertaken.

Violence such as this must be condoned. It has not only robbed us of a brilliant mind, but has also denied the academic community the contribution of a future great intellect, Deep sorrow was expressed over Dr Swarnkar's death from IISER.