Nasir and Amir, prime suspects in the murder of a dentist in Vikaspuri, seem to have no supporters even within their family.
On Saturday, their relatives conceded that the siblings were involved in the murderous assault, for which they initially blamed the victim, Pankaj Narang.
The siblings’ younger sister, Nisha, told The Hindu that Nasir and one of his friends had gone out to meet a relative in Uttam Nagar when they entered into a scuffle with Pankaj.
“Nasir returned with an injured hand. This infuriated Amir, who took a stick and left with him,” said Nisha.
The family, meanwhile, is standing by the siblings’ mother Mesar, who is among the nine persons arrested.
“She (Mesar) had gone to stop the fight. She snatched the stick from Amir and Nasir, but the police arrested her saying that the CCTV footage showed her holding a stick,” said Mesar’s daughter-in-law Sabeena even as Mesar’s youngest son, a nine-year-old boy, kept crying for his mother.
On Saturday, the elders of the colony, comprising daily wage labourers and street vendors, spoke against how the residents of the slum had reacted. “We regret the murder. Had the elders been aware that something of this kind was going to happen, we would have prevented it. We will have to rein in our youths,” said Mohd Saleem, an elderly resident.
What has the residents worried now is that the slum is being labelled a ‘Muslim’ and ‘Bangladeshi’ colony, which may result in them being targeted in the future.
“Around half of us here are Hindus. We attend festivals at each other’s homes, irrespective of our religion. The colony and the incident should not have been given a communal colour,” said Baniya Kant, a resident.
The police, meanwhile, have decided to hold periodical jan sabhas (public meetings) with residents of this slum, the first one beginning next Saturday. Joint CP (South-Western Range) Dependra Pathak, in fact, told the slum dwellers that NGOs would be roped in to counsel the youths.
Meanwhile, with footage from just one CCTV camera available so far, the police are struggling to establish the exact sequence of events. This is despite senior officers claiming that they will be able to make a water-tight case against the accused as they have strong evidence.
The lone video available does not have footage of the attack, or the argument that escalated into violence. It only shows the suspects moving with weapons. But, it has helped the police to nab the suspects. Police are now hoping to collect more footage on Monday from a bank and an educational institute, which were closed due to holidays.
On Saturday, many BJP and AAP leaders came to the victim’s house, but the family politely refused to see them. They, however, met BJP Delhi president Satish Upadhyay. Also, a condolence meeting was held at a local temple, which was attended by JNUSU joint secretary Saurabh Sharma, Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta, and others.
‘Rehabilitation’ on the cards?
With people speaking against the residents of the JJ Colony in Vikaspuri, some of who have been arrested for the dentist’s murder, the SDM (Patel Nagar) on Saturday said that the government would try to “rehabilitate” them elsewhere. Members of Vikaspuri’s New Krishna Park Residents Welfare Association (RWA) had alleged on Friday that it was common for the youth from neighbouring colonies to come to the area and create mischief by hooting or honking at odd hours of the night.
Dr Vivek Kumar, SDM (Patel Nagar), visited the area on Friday and conducted a recce of the slum that houses more than 800 people. “We will try to arrange for rehabilitation of the slum dwellers,” said Mr. Kumar.
He added that gates would be installed at the locality where the doctor was killed to keep anti-social elements away.
