A social media war stretched to the streets of Delhi today. A man was seen lying in the middle of a road and being brutally thrashed by a group of men in a video that has gone viral. Both the victim and the man who fronted the attack were 'social media influencers', and the assault was allegedly over an online post.
The injured person has been identified as Deepak Sharma - with 1,42,000 followers on Instagram - and the people seen beating him are Pradeep Dhaka - and his friends.
In the video, Mr Dhaka - wearing a chunky gold necklace and bracelets - was seen kicking Mr Sharma and twisting his legs. The victim and the assailant were flanked by a group of people capturing the scene on their phones, but none of them was seen doing anything to stop the fight.
Both sides had come to attend a common gathering in Delhi's Tilak Nagar when the fight broke out. As per the initial inquiry, Pradeep Dhaka was upset due to certain social media posts against him by Deepak Sharma. Details of that are being verified, said police.
In a video on his Instagram page, Mr Sharma - with blood on his clothes and face - claimed, "I came here to attend an event, they called me outside and thrashed me". He also shared the video of assault on his page.
"You follow these people and see what they have done to me," said Mr Sharma, who said he was going to register a police case.
The police have registered a case under serious sections in this matter, and a team has been formed to search for the accused.
