KANPUR: A 60-year-old paan vendor was badly beaten up by his neighbour after the elderly man refused to open his shop for a

sachet. Later, the paan vendor succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

The incident took place in Navin Nagar on April 14 and came to light only after the paan vendor died in the hospital on Monday. The deceased has been identified as Prem Narain Diwakar and the accused is one Nitin Pandey.

Reports said Nitin came to Prem on April 14 and asked him to open his shop, located right in front of his house, and give him a paan masala sachet. But, Prem refused citing the lockdown, which incited Nitin. An argument ensued, which snowballed into fisticuffs and, finally, Nitin hit Prem with an iron rod and fled from the place. Neighbours who arrived at the scene after overhearing the loud arguments found Prem lying unconscious. They admitted Prem to a nearby hospital where he died on Monday.

“An FIR has been lodged in this case against the accused, who is on the run. Raids are being conducted to nab him,” Kaushal Kishore Dikshit,