Tension in Nuh after 27-year-old, on way to medical store, beaten to death

While the police said the motive for the attack is unclear, the family of the deceased, Asif Khan, alleged that the suspects were former members of Khan’s gym and they had a fallout with Khan over some issue.

A 27-year-old man was killed and his two cousins injured after a group of about 15 men attacked them with sticks and guns while they were on their way to Sohna from Nuh to buy medicines on Sunday night. Police on Monday said they have arrested six men so far and booked 8 others on charges of murder and rioting.

Once news of Khan’s death reached his family, his relatives and villagers protested on Sohna road on Sunday night seeking the arrest of his murderers. (HT Archives. Representative image)

While the police said the motive for the attack is unclear, the family of the deceased, Asif Khan, alleged that the suspects were former members of Khan’s gym and they had a fallout with Khan over some issue. They, however, did not reveal what the issue was, police said.

Meanwhile, some locals have claimed that the assailants had forced Khan to chant a Hindu religious slogan before fatally attacking him. But the police refuted the claims and said the complaint by Khan’s family did not mention any such angle.

However, in view of the claims, police deployed over 100 personnel in and around Khan’s village, Kheda Khalilpur in Nuh, to prevent any law and order situation.

According to the police, Khan used to run a gym in Sohna. On Sunday, around 8pm, he left from Nuh for Sohna in his car, along with his cousins, Rashid and Wasif.

“Khan’s cousins Rashid and Wasif, who sustained injuries in the attack, managed to escape but the suspects took Khan to the outskirts of Sohna. His body was found later that night in Nagli village,” the SP said.

“Both groups had fought in the past also and that issue was resolved. But on Sunday, the suspects were more in number and attacked the three cousins and killed one,” Bijarnia said.

Once news of Khan’s death reached his family, his relatives and villagers protested on Sohna road on Sunday night seeking the arrest of his murderers. Police later said a special investigation team was formed on Sunday night to arrest all suspects.

Rashid Ahmad, Khan’s cousin and a social activist and lawyer from Nuh, said Khan had no personal enmity with the men who attacked him. “He used to run his gym and the suspects were members of his gym but due to some tiff, they had stopped coming there and bore a grudge against Khan,” he said.

Hasan Khan, an uncle of the deceased, said the suspects had forced them to stop their car and also pelted stones on them when they tried to speed away. “They requested the attackers to let them go as they had to buy medicines for an ailing relative but they did not pay any heed. They had come with the intention of killing Asif,” he said.

Police registered a case under sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 302 (murder), 323 (causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 365 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of Arms Act at the Rozka Meo police station on Monday.

The body was handed over to the family members on Monday after the post-mortem examination and the protesters were assured of justice, following which the blockade was removed, said police.