Days after a 26-year-old died after being brutally beaten up due to a dispute that had erupted between his family and neighbours, who belong to a minority community, during Holi celebrations in southwest Delhi’s Uttam Nagar, seven people, including a minor, were apprehended, police said on Saturday. Tarun was beaten up with rods near the corner of his lane after unknowingly walking into a dispute that had erupted earlier between his family and neighbours. He died during treatment the next day. Provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were also added to the FIR on Saturday, policesaid.
The incident, which took place on March 4, sparked tensions in the area with an angry mob damaging several vehicles and setting them on fire. Protests over the past two days prompted heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel in the area.
Also Read | Vehicles on Fire, Roads Blocked: Massive Protest Rocks Delhi’s Uttam Nagar After Man Killed in Holi Clash
A Water Balloon Landed Wrong
On Wednesday, around 11.09 pm, a call was made to the Uttam Nagar Police Station, reporting a quarrel between neighbours belonging to different communities in the area’s JJ colony. The two families had known each other for the past five decades and got into rows over parking and garbage disposal, among other things, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Kushal Pal Singh said.
“Both families are originally from Rajasthan. Earlier, they used to live in the Rajendra Nagar slum and shifted here after 2004,” Singh said.
Related News |
An initial inquiry revealed that the dispute began after Tarun’s 11-year-old cousin accidentally threw a water balloon from the terrace of their house towards her relative. But it hit the ground and the water splashed on the clothes of their neighbour. The woman, as per the Tarun’s family, hurled abuses and left before returning with her relatives. Soon, both parties came to blows and members of both families sustained injuries. After the scuffle, all returned home.
However, the accused’s family spotted Tarun when he was returning home and allegedly beat him up, leaving him injured on the road. Tarun’s family has alleged the involvement of over a dozen people in the assault.
Locality Remains Tense
The police said eight people sustained injuries in the clash — three from one side and five from the other – and most were discharged from the hospital the same day. Tarun, however, was admitted with serious injuries. An FIR was initially registered under sections 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and police arrested four people and apprehended one minor.
“On March 5, Tarun succumbed during treatment, following which the section related to murder was added to the case,” the officer said. With the arrest of two more accused, the total number of people held in this connection has risen to seven, including six adults and a minor, they said.
The accused have been identified as Umardeen, 49, and Jummadeen and Kamruddin, both aged 36. Besides the juvenile, the other three were Mustaque, Muzzafar, and Tahir, aged 46, 25, and 18. The police warned of action against anti-social elements attempting to give the incident a different colour or disturb law and order.
On Friday, tensions rose in the area when a car and a motorcycle were set on fire, and a protest by Hindu political outfits blocked traffic for several hours, demanding justice for Tarun. According to police sources, members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad gathered under the Uttam Nagar East Metro Station, blocked the main road, and shouted slogans. The police used mild force to disperse them after repeated appeals failed to convince them to vacate the road.
