Delhi assembly breach accused wanted a minister’s help to trace missing nephew: Family

The brother-in-law of the accused told HT the family had initially hid about the nephew’s disappearance due to Sarabjit’s mental health condition.

The man who breached the Delhi assembly complex on Monday had been trying to “meet a minister” to seek help in tracing his missing nephew, his family said a day after his arrest, claiming he was in distress and off medication.

The forensics team inspects the premises after an SUV driven by a masked man broke through one of the boundary gates of the Delhi assembly on Monday. (Arvind Yadav/ HT Photo)

Delhi Police on Monday arrested Sarabjit Singh, 37, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit, and booked him for attempted murder, criminal trespass and obstructing public servants after he rammed his Tata Sierra through barricades to enter the assembly premises in Civil Lines. He then placed a bouquet in the Speaker’s unlocked vehicle before leaving; he was arrested within two hours from Roop Nagar.

On Tuesday, his family said Singh had been “disturbed” after learning that his 20-year-old nephew had been missing since April 1 and was angry over what he perceived as a lack of police response.

“He was not listening. He wanted to help find my son. On April 3, he left after fighting. He had switched off his phone and we couldn’t contact him. He kept saying he would meet some police officer or netaji (minister) to solve the case. He had only gone there to give flowers and show papers about my son. He shouldn’t have broken the gate and all but he’s not a criminal. He is a patient. We have all his medical records,” Harman Singh, his brother-in-law, told HT.

Harman said the family had initially hid the news about the disappearance due to Sarabjit’s mental health condition. “My son is a student of Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology and is studying B.Tech. He went missing on April 1 and we have all been looking for him. We didn’t tell Sarabjit because we know his condition. There are times he gets aggressive and restless. Sadly, he found out about the case through a Facebook post. He got very upset and angry,” he said.

According to the family, the nephew was last seen in Nangal, where relatives were searching for him. Sarabjit reached there on April 4, got into an argument with family members for not informing him earlier, and insisted that they should involve the police more actively.

The family said Sarabjit, who has been undergoing treatment for depression for seven years, had left his medication behind in Pilibhit. Efforts to procure medicines in Nangal were unsuccessful, and he grew increasingly agitated.

The family added that Sarabjit had travelled to Delhi on Monday and was staying at a gurdwara before the incident. They are now heading to the capital and have urged authorities to consider his medical condition while pursuing the case.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Tuesday sent the accused to eight days in police custody.