New Delhi | A 21-year-old man was stabbed to death by unknown assailants following an altercation over passing a matchstick to light a 'bidi' in Delhi's Vasant Kunj, police said on Wednesday.

The police received information about the incident from the JJ Bandhu Camp at around 11.40 pm on Tuesday and rushed to the spot. They found that the victim, Karan, had already been shifted to the hospital.

"Soon after, we received information from the private hospital in Vasant Kunj about the admission of a stabbing victim, who was later declared dead during treatment by the doctors," an officer said.

The team reached the hospital and collected the details, which mentioned a stab injury to the neck region as the cause of death, the officer said.

Preliminary enquiry revealed that the victim had a verbal dispute with the alleged attackers over passing a matchstick to light a 'bidi'. The argument escalated, leading to the accused fatally stabbing him, the police said.

The crime team inspected the scene and collected forensic evidence. Police have registered a case under sections 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Vasant Kunj North police station.

"Efforts are underway to identify and arrest the accused, and further investigation is underway," the police added.