Uttam Nagar murder: ₹37 lakh sent to suspect’s family frozen

Delhi Police froze a bank account linked to the Uttam Nagar murder case after ₹37 lakh was credited from online appeals, amid ongoing tensions.

Delhi Police officials said on Friday that they have frozen the bank account of a person linked to the family of the accused in the Uttam Nagar murder case after approximately ₹37 lakh was credited to the account following online appeals for financial assistance, officials said.

The money was credited following alleged appeals for financial assistance (Photo for representation)

The account belonged to an individual associated with the Muslim family, 16 of whose members have been arrested in connection with the killing of 26-year-old Tarun Kumar during clashes that took place between two families on March 4. The incident, allegedly triggered by a water balloon thrown during Holi, led to days of protests by religious groups and right-wing organisations.

Deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Kushal Pal Singh said some individuals were attempting to mobilise funds by “circulating false narratives” linked to the incident. “We found a March 10 viral video that included a QR code seeking financial assistance from the public. Around ₹37 lakh had already been credited to the suspect bank account in the past two days,” Singh said.

The concerned bank branch manager has been informed to block all credit and debit facilities and freeze the deposited amount, he added.

Following the arrests, a family member of the accused shared posts on social media alleging the fight began not over Holi but because her aunt was molested by the victim’s family. She also claimed one of her brothers was missing.

Police said they have sent 14 takedown requests to X and eight to Instagram under the IT Act for removing inflammatory content and posts spreading misinformation. HT’s repeated attempts to reach the woman were unsuccessful as her phone has been switched off since Thursday.

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