Ex-Indian army officer bludgeons six to death with iron rod in ‘random street killing spree’

A “mentally disturbed” former army officer beat six people to death with an iron rod on Tuesday in a street killing spree that sparked panic in an Indian city, police said.

Former army lieutenant Naresh Dhankar, 45, began his two hour murder rampage in a hospital in Palwal, in Haryana state, then walked outside picking victims at random, police said.

His first killing of a woman waiting for a relative in the hospital was caught on security cameras.

As police took the body of the woman to the morgue word came through of the other killings and a citywide alert was ordered.

Three of the dead were night watchmen and one was a beggar who had been sleeping in the street in the city about 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of New Delhi, police officials said.