Protests erupt in northeast Delhi after murder of 25-year-old man

While local Bharatiya Janata Party MP Manoj Tiwari claimed it was a planned murder, police refuted the allegation and said old enmity led to the incident

Locals in Sunder Nagri area of northeast Delhi on Sunday staged a protest after a 25-year-old man was stabbed to death by a group of men on Saturday evening.

Police personnel keep vigil following the recent stabbing of a 25-year-old man by three men at Sunder Nagri in New Delhi on Sunday. (ANI)

While local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Manoj Tiwari claimed it was a planned murder, police refuted the allegation and said old enmity led to the incident.

Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Sanjay Kumar Sain said that around 7.40pm on Saturday the Nand Nagri police station control room received a call informing them that a man had been stabbed by two-three men in Sundar Nagri. “Police immediately reached the spot and shifted the victim to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. The deceased man was identified by his first name as Manish (25), a resident of Sunder Nagri,” he said.

He added that the motive of the murder seemed to be old enmity. “The victim had lodged a case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code against two persons at the Nand Nagri police station in June last year, when they attacked him with a knife. Both the suspects in that case – Mohsin and Kasim – are behind bars in connection with that assault. Manish’s family has alleged that they were pressurising him to withdraw the case, but since he did not, asked their friends – who live in the neighbourhood – to kill Manish,” he said.

He said that during preliminary enquiry, three persons - Aalam, Bilal and Faizan (identified by their first names) – emerged as the main suspects in the case. “They have been rounded up by the police. We’ll also take Mohsin and Kasim on police remand to interrogate them in connection with this murder,” he said.

On Sunday morning, the incident triggered locals to protest and demand action against the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari alleged that it was a well-planned murder of a Dalit man. “One can see in the CCTV camera footage that the perpetrators approached Manish with a knife on a crowded street. While they stabbed Manish, nobody came out to save him – perhaps due to the terror of the suspects in that area. We demand stern punishment for the culprits of the incident,” he said.

The DCP, however, categorically denied any communal angle in the incident. “Adequate forces have been deployed in the area to avert any mishap,” he added.