IISER researcher dies after neighbour assaults him over parking in Mohali

A researcher of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali (IISER) here died in a parking-related brawl with a neighbour in Sector 67 last night.

The police said the victim, Dr Abhishek Swarnkar (40) was about to park his bike when his neighbour Monty objected to it. Soon, a scuffle ensued and Monty allegedly pinned Abhishek to the ground, punched and kicked him in the chest and stomach.

The victim was reportedly suffering from a kidney problem and undergoing dialysis. Locals gathered at the spot, after which the suspect put him in his SUV and took him to the nearby private hospital. However, the doctors declared him dead on arrival.

On a complaint filed by the deceased’s father, a case has been registered at the Phase 11 police station. He is survived by his elderly parents and two married sisters. One of the sister had reportedly donated a kidney to him.

Phase 11 SHO Gagandeep Singh said, “The post mortem will be conducted on Thursday.”

Abhishek had joined IISER on the National Postdoctoral Fellowship and had just completed his research. The victim, a native of Dhanbad, Jharkhand, was staying with his parents in a rented house.

His colleagues said Abhishek was a brilliant researcher and doing very good research work in Switzerland before joining the institute as a National Postdoctoral Fellow. Abhishek was the lead author of a research paper published in the international journal Science in 2016 while working with a group of international researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, US.