Dr. Abhishek Swarnkar, a 39-year-old scientist, tragically lost his life in Mohali following an assault related to a parking dispute. The incident occurred after Dr. Swarnkar warned the accused, Monty, that he would file a complaint over their ongoing issues regarding parking. Monty, shouting “Tu complain karega?” (“You will complain?”), pushed Dr. Swarnkar to the ground and physically assaulted him. Dr. Swarnkar, who had recently undergone a kidney transplant, collapsed immediately and passed away.

In an emotional interview with NDTV, Dr. Swarnkar’s mother, Malti Devi, recounted the heartbreaking events that led to her son’s death. She accused Monty and his family of continuously harassing them over parking issues. According to her, Monty and his family had regularly complained about where they parked, causing frustration for the family. “They often told us not to park here or there. That night, after my son returned from IISER and parked his bike, they demanded he move it,” Malti Devi explained.

She continued, “An argument broke out, and my son came upstairs. They threatened to ‘blow up’ the bike. I told them, ‘It’s right in front of you, go ahead and blow it up.’ My son got agitated. My husband went downstairs to talk to them, and my son followed him. He moved his bike to show them how difficult it would be to take it out if parked where they insisted.”

Malti Devi revealed that they had moved to Mohali’s Sector 67 in December 2023, and the accused, Monty, lived next door. She explained that they were unfamiliar with the parking system in the area, where people often park right outside their homes. “We didn’t know the rules at first. My son would keep moving the bike whenever someone complained, but it felt like no matter where he parked, there was always someone unhappy about it,” she added.

The incident escalated on Tuesday night when Dr. Swarnkar told Monty that he intended to file a complaint about the harassment. Malti Devi recalled that Monty responded aggressively, shouting, “Tu complain karega?” before shoving Dr. Swarnkar. “My son was already a patient. We rushed him to the hospital, but he died,” she said, visibly distressed.

Dr. Swarnkar, originally from Dhanbad, Jharkhand, was an accomplished scientist whose work had been published in international journals. He had worked in the US, Switzerland, and Germany before returning to India, where he joined IISER as a project scientist. Recently, he had undergone a kidney transplant, with his sister donating one of her kidneys.

Asked whether her son had filed any police complaints about the ongoing harassment over parking, Malti Devi explained, “We were living on rent and didn’t want to escalate things. We kept ignoring the complaints. It was just a bike, and no matter where he parked it, someone would always have an issue.”

An eyewitness to the altercation noted that Dr. Swarnkar had parked his bike in the same spot for a long time without any issues. “What changed in the past two days?” the witness questioned. “There had been an argument, and then Monty pushed him.”

The police have filed a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. They are currently searching for the accused, Monty, who remains at large. Efforts are underway to locate him, including tracking his phone.

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