Three of thirty-two rioters held for protesting over death of F’bad student test Covid positive

Three of the thirty-two people arrested by the Faridabad Police on Sunday for allegedly pelting stones, damaging shops and blocking the Delhi-Agra Highway tested

Three of the thirty-two people arrested by the Faridabad Police on Sunday for allegedly pelting stones, damaging shops and blocking the Delhi-Agra Highway tested positive for Covid-19, said the police on Monday. The suspects were demanding justice for the family of 20-year-old Nikita Tomar, who was shot dead by her alleged stalker outside Aggarwal College in Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, on October 26.

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The police said the three Covid-19 positive suspects have been sent to the isolation ward of ESI Hospital in Faridabad and health officials have been informed to start contact tracing.

OP Singh, police commissioner, Faridabad, said that they have appealed to the people who had attended ‘Mahapanchayat’ to follow home quarantine for 10 days to ensure they do not infect others. “We got antigen test conducted for all 32 suspects, who were arrested. Twenty-nine of them have been sent to judicial custody and three have been admitted at the isolation ward of ESI hospital,” he said.

On Sunday, a ‘mahapanchayat’ was called at the Dussehra ground over the murder. The assembly later turned violent as 200 people created ruckus and attacked police personnel. The police said the mob blocked the highway and started pelting stones at them, leaving 10 policemen injured.

A case under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 152 (assaulting or obstructing public servant), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 188 (disobedience to order ), 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease), 283 (danger or obstruction in public way), 332 (voluntarily causing injury to public servant ), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant), 427 (mischief causing damage), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance ) of the Indian Penal Code, Section 8B of National Highway Act, and Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act was filed on Sunday.

Singh said they have provided 24-hour security to the victim’s family members and her brother has been provided the licence to hold arms for self-defence. “We have provided police protection to father, mother and brother to ensure their safety,” he said.

The police also that while 32 people were arrested, police are also searching for others who had instigated violence and had given the demonstration a communal colour. The suspects had come from Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Delhi, Nuh, Palwal and Gurugram to attend the ‘mahapanchayat’. Plans were afoot to disrupt the peace and create communal tensions, said the police.

On October 26 afternoon, Touseef Ahmad, a resident of Kabeer Nagar in Sohna, and his friend, Rehaan (who goes by his first name), a resident of Riwasan in Nuh, arrived in a Hyundai i20 and tried to force Nikita Tomar — a B. Com final-year student — into the vehicle as she came out of the college after writing an exam, the police added.

After their attempt failed, Touseef chased the victim down and shot her in the head from a close range at around 3:48pm as passersby watched, showed a video. The suspects escaped from the crime scene, leaving Tomar, who was accompanied by a friend, in a pool of blood. She was rushed to a government hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival. Both the suspects were arrested within 36 hours and the weapon and car used in the crime were recovered from Nuh.