Man stabbed to death in Delhi’s Bhogal over parking row; two brothers held

A purported video of the incident showed the men scuffling in a narrow lane, with bystanders rushing to intervene. One accused is seen pinning Qureshi to the ground while the other stabs him multiple times

A 42-year-old man was stabbed to death allegedly by two brothers outside his home in south-east Delhi’s Bhogal area on Thursday night, following an argument over a parked scooter. The victim, Asif Qureshi — whose family owns several restaurants in Nizamuddin West — was a cousin of Bollywood actor Huma Qureshi.

The lane in Bhogal where the murder took place on Thursday night. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Police said Asif was “merely requesting” the brothers not to park their two-wheeler in front of his house when the dispute turned violent. “Ujjwal Kumar, 21, ignored the request, became aggressive, abused the victim and began thrashing him,” said Hemant Tiwari, deputy commissioner of police (south-east). “He then called over his younger brother, Gautam Kumar, 18, and he too joined in the assault.”

According to police, Gautam joined in the assault and moments later pulled out a sharp object resembling an ice pick and stabbed Qureshi repeatedly in the chest. The brothers fled as Qureshi collapsed. He died on the spot.

A purported video of the incident showed the men scuffling in a narrow lane, with bystanders rushing to intervene. One accused is seen pinning Qureshi to the ground while the other stabs him multiple times. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage.

DCP Tiwari said, “The incident occurred around 10.30pm. Ujjwal, a music teacher, had returned from work and parked his two-wheeler outside Qureshi’s house. When Qureshi asked him to move it, Ujjwal ignored him. On being asked again, he became aggressive, abused and threatened the victim, and began assaulting him.”

Police said the attack unfolded in full view of Qureshi’s wife, Shaheen (35), who was seated barely 10 metres away at a shop. “I have been unwell, and Asif had only asked the men to move their scooter so I could pass. Before I could react, they began hitting him, dragging and pushing him. One of them came out and stabbed him. Even a woman relative of the accused joined in. Last November, they barged into our room and attacked him, but he escaped. I urged him to file an FIR, but he chose to avoid the police. Had he acted then, he might still be alive,” she said.

Saleem Qureshi, Huma’s father, said, “All this happened over a parked scooter. My nephew had simply asked them to move it so he and his wife could pass — and they killed him.”

This was not the first time the accused had targeted Qureshi. Police said the brothers had assaulted him at his home about three months ago. “We found that the accused had also attacked the victim back then, but he was saved by members of the public. The incident was never reported, and the accused had threatened him with dire consequences,” the DCP added.

On Thursday night, multiple police teams tracked the accused via CCTV footage and arrested them near the Delhi–Noida border early Friday. The alleged murder weapon — a modified screwdriver with the back removed — was seized. “Gautam’s father repairs transformers for a living, and the tool was taken from home. Gautam is a school drop-out, while Ujjwal is a music teacher. Both had previous tiffs with Qureshi,” said a senior officer.

“They admitted to killing Qureshi over a scooter parking dispute. In a fit of rage, they attacked him with a sharp object, and he died on the spot,” the DCP said.

Qureshi is survived by two wives and two children from his first marriage. At the family’s home near Qureshi Masjid in Nizamuddin West, relatives gathered in shock. His first wife, Gulfisha, said: “He was good to everyone. Who kills a man over parking a scooter? My children have lost their father for nothing.”