Eyewitnesses recount Delhi street horror, say girl’s family feigned road rage to stab Ankit to death

Police say when the girl left her house after an argument with her parents over being denied permission to marry a man of her choice, her family set out to seek revenge from Ankit.

The mother of Ankit Saxena’s alleged girlfriend used road rage as a pretext to force the 23-year-old Delhi photographer out of his vehicle by ramming her scooter into his car, people who witnessed the incident in west Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar said — a version of events corroborated by police.

Ankit Saxena, a 23-year-old wedding photographer, was reportedly in love with his neighbour, identified by only her first name Shehzadi. The two allegedly had planned to get married.

As he stepped out of the vehicle, the accused family attacked him and allegedly killed him on the road in west Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar on Thursday evening. All the accused have been arrested.

Saxena and neighbour Shehzadi, identified by only her first name, were in a relationship and planned to get married. The girl’s parents were allegedly against this and wanted to seek revenge on Saxena, who they believed coaxed her to walk out of their house, said police.

“Shehzadi’s mother rode right into Saxena’s car. He did not know that the scooter rider was his girlfriend’s mother,” said Pappu, an eyewitness who owns a shop near the spot where Saxena was killed. As Saxena got down from his car, Shehzadi’s mother confronted him. Her other relatives also joined her and heckled him, he added.

Saxena pleaded innocence, but Shehzadi’s family members allegedly attacked him with a knife and slit his throat.

According to police sources, when Shehzadi left her house after an argument with her parents over being denied permission to marry a man of her choice, her family set out to seek revenge. The Delhi Police have arrested Shehzadi’s parents, her uncle and apprehended her minor brother.

Eyewitnesses said Shehzadi’s family spotted Saxena in his Santro car at a traffic intersection near his home around 8pm on Thursday. “Shehzadi’s mother put on a helmet and rode right into Saxena’s car. Saxena did not know that the scooter rider was his girlfriend’s mother and stepped out of his car to check for damage,” said Pappu, an eyewitness who chooses to be identified by only his first name.

Pappu, who owns a cigarette shop in front of the spot where Saxena was killed, said that as soon as Saxena emerged from his car, Shehzadi’s mother took off her helmet and confronted him. “Her other relatives, who were nearby, joined her as they began heckling Saxena and blaming him for Shehzadi’s disappearance,” said Pappu.

Though Saxena’s mother, neighbours and eyewitnesses said that he was driving a car at the time of the incident, DCP (west) Vijay Kumar claimed that the victim was on a motorcycle.

Over the next few minutes, Saxena denied being in a relationship with Shehzadi to her family. Meanwhile, people known to him alerted his parents about the ensuing argument. “He insisted that the police are called or he be taken to the police station. But they kept beating him even as a large crowd gathered around them,” said Sarika, a neighbourhood resident.

The killers struck the fatal blow to Saxena’s neck using a kukri (a curved, sharp knife) soon after his parents arrived at the spot minutes later. “The woman’s mother began thrashing Saxena’s mother. He rushed to her help and bent down to pick up his mother. It was at that moment that Shehzadi’s uncle and brother caught him by his hair and pulled him up. While the two of them held his arms from behind, the woman’s father slit his throat,” said Neeraj, another eyewitness.

Many eyewitnesses requested not to be identified by their full names due to the sensitive nature of the case.

However, eyewitnesses added that Saxena did not go down immediately after the knife blow. “His throat was slit, but he walked without any help for several metres. He was standing for nearly 3-4 minutes and even crossed two carriageways of a road towards his car. He collapsed after that,” said Pappu.

“Saxena seemed to be looking for the police even after the knife attack. I think someone from the crowd dialled the police, but they reached the spot only after Saxena had been taken to a hospital,” said Pappu.

Saxena’s parents had earlier alleged that their son lay without help for 15-20 minutes as e-rickshaw and auto-rickshaw drivers had refused to help move him to a hospital.