Slapped By Customer Over Torn Rs 10 Note, Delivery Partner Dies By Suicide

New Delhi:

Sameer Hussain would have turned 24 on Wednesday, but days before his family could celebrate his birthday, he consumed poison and died. A delivery executive with Flipkart Minutes, Hussain was allegedly beaten for refusing to accept a torn Rs 10 note from a customer.

The incident occurred on October 4, around 10:30 pm, when Hussain went to deliver an order to one Rampal Singh in east Delhi's Vinod Nagar. In a video recorded before consuming poison, Hussain recounted the incident and said the customer had taken around 15 minutes to arrange the cash for a coffee order worth approximately Rs 150.

Hussain said he did not object to the delay but asked the customer to replace a torn Rs 10 note.

"I told him politely, 'Uncle, please change this', but he started misbehaving. He said, 'This is what I have, if you want, take it or go from here'," Hussain said.

The customer allegedly slapped Hussain thrice. He, however, did not retaliate but was deeply hurt when he was insulted over his financial condition, he said.

"Is being poor an abuse?" he asked in the video, adding that he had never asked his father for money because he wanted to earn independently.

Hussain expressed fear that he would not get justice because he lacked money and questioned the support available to delivery workers.

"I will commit suicide, since my self-respect has anyway been tarnished in the middle of the road," he said in the video.

Describing himself as a hard worker, Hussain said he delivered orders on a bicycle.

"I believe in working hard. I don't have any vehicle, so I deliver on a cycle. I believe that I'll eat less but will eat from my own hard work," he said.

Addressing his mother, he said he considered himself strong but feared that the current circumstances would not allow him to live peacefully.

In another video, which he said was his suicide note, Hussain blamed the customer and his grandson, Rakesh, for the alleged abuse. "I know no complaint will be registered against him. I witnessed it last night. His wife asked him to apologise, but what's the point? First you beat someone and then apologise. Perhaps now, after my death, someone will listen...If anything happens to me, these two will be responsible."

Hussain described himself as "mentally very strong" but said he was disturbed following the alleged abuse. He claimed he had not told his family anything.

"Being poor is precisely why one gets abused throughout one's life. Anyone can say anything to us... I, who always gave strength to others, could not find the strength for myself," he added.

Hussain alleged that no one at the dark store heard him, but at the same time thanked fellow gig workers for supporting him.

In another purported video, Hussain is seen opening a bottle containing a liquid. He drinks it and says, "I will die."

He did so on October 5, hours after the alleged abuse. He was admitted to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital where he died on Tuesday (October 20) during treatment.

Hussain's mother, Kalima, alleged that the accused had political connections and threatened that he could get away with anything.

"They mocked his poverty," Kalima said.

Police have added Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), pertaining to abetment of suicide, and are investigating the circumstances leading to Hussain's death.

(With inputs from Ravi Dalmia and PTI)