A busy park with guards, a b'day party, and murder

In the busy Malviya Nagar area of south Delhi, surrounded by residential colonies, commercial establishments, shops, offices, and a college, the 46-acre Vijay Mandal Park, Begumpur, is generally bustling with a large crowd at lunchtime.

- Snehil Sinha

Managed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the park has 13 guards who work in three shifts along with a supervisor — all of whom are ex-servicemen. The large park has three entry gates, each manned by a guard, while a fourth guard is usually patrolling inside. The Malviya Nagar police station is just about 100 metres from the park. The park has three main entrances from the sides of Sarvodaya Enclave, Begumpur Village, and Aurobindo College, and four smaller pedestrian gates.

When the 22-year-old woman, Nargis, was killed on Friday afternoon, the park was full of visitors, according to the guards.