A day after a 22-year-old man was stabbed to death in Outer Delhi’s Mangolpuri allegedly by a group of men, police Saturday said there was no communal angle in the issue.
Police said a call was received around 4.30 pm in Mangolpuri’s K Block about a stabbing incident. Three persons, Armaan, Moin Khan, and Fardeen, were brought with stab injuries to SGM Hospital, and Armaan was declared dead on arrival. Fardeen, who sustained minor injuries, claimed he had had an altercation with the brother of one of the accused after he touched his bike while driving past their house.
Police said that after Fardeen returned home, his brother Moin decided to go and resolve the matter peacefully. However, an argument broke out between him and the accused, when both Fardeen and his cousin Armaan were also present. The accused and his brother then allegedly called their friends to attack them. Police said the accused went to Mangolpuri’s O Block to take revenge on another person and later stabbed two of his friends, severely injuring one of them.
Additional DCP (Outer) Ravi Verma said, “This was a case of enmity between two families who have a previous record of trying to establish dominance in the area. Saif, Vineet and Shahrukh have been caught, and four teams are conducting raids to nab the rest. Since both families are from the same community, there is no communal angle here. The law and order situation is normal.”
“Two cases have been filed under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) for the K Block incident, and the second under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 34,” Verma said.
Armaan’s father, Mhd Salim, told The Indian Express that his son had participated in Ganpati celebrations a few days ago, and Shahrukh, Saif, and another man, who also lived in the same colony and who knew Armaan well, had questioned him before about participating in the festivities. “My son was young and he had probably gone for the festivities. There might have been some colour on his face at the time. After coming back, he was cleaning the car parked outside our home when he heard a loud noise from the lane behind our home. He went and saw that my uncle’s sons were being stabbed by some boys. There were some 10-15 of them and they knew me and my family well. He was stabbed multiple times. I have already filed a complaint with police,” he said.
One of the injured, Fardeen, alleged, “We were coming from Ganesh Chaturthi programme. When we stood here, all these people came and asked me why I had colour on my face and did not do Namaz. When I asked what the problem was, they abused me and shoved me. One of them had a knife which he waved at others and stabbed me.”
When contacted, Additional DCP Verma said, “It is a case of scuffle between two families for area dominance. There is no communal angle, also, it was a coincidence that it took place on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Involved people may tell us many versions because of obvious reasons.”
