The fallout from the fatal fight between two families of different communities at Uttam Nagar’s Hastasal JJ Colony, which led to the death of a 26-year-old man, continued on Sunday as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) bulldozed a portion of a four-storey building belonging to one of the accused, police said. One more person was also arrested on the day, taking the total number of arrests to seven, besides the apprehension of a minor, they said.
Officials of the MCD maintained that they razed only the “illegally constructed and encroached” portions of the four-storey residential building.
“In continuation of the arrests made earlier in the case, we have arrested the eighth accused, Imran alias Bunty,38. Of the eight, one is a juvenile, who was apprehended. Also, as per the statements of family members of the victim, Tarun Kumar, stringent provisions of The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) (Prevention of Atrocities) Act have been invoked,” said deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Kushal Pal Singh.
The clash between the two families started on Wednesday night, as an 11-year-old girl threw a water balloon from the terrace of her house, which hit a woman from another community. This escalated into a fight between the two families and resulted in injuries to eight people from both sides. Of them, 26-year-old Tarun Kumar succumbed to his injuries.
“After Tarun’s death, we added murder charge under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),” said DCP Singh.
On Sunday, senior police officers said investigators were looking for the woman on whom the balloon had allegedly splashed, as she had absconded after the clash. They said questioning her would help them establish the exact sequence of events leading to the clashes, as the victim’s family members alleged that she abused and threatened them.
“Our teams are conducting raids to arrest the woman, identified by locals as Saira alias Kaali. The victim’s family has given us a list containing names of eight to 10 more people, who, according to them, were involved in the attack, and demanding their arrest. We will verify the role of each person named in the list. Legal action will be taken only if their presence and involvement in the attack is confirmed through concrete evidence, including CCTV footage,” said a senior officer, who asked not to be named.
Meanwhile, the MCD’s demolition was carried out amid heavy police and paramilitary deployment. The area was cordoned off and the movement of public was stopped.
An MCD official said that one bulldozer, along with a demolition team and the civic team, undertook the drive at around 11am and “only the illegally constructed parts and extensions” of the structure were targeted. Officials claimed the action was part of ongoing action against “removing encroachment built upon the drainage network.”
“The entire house has not been razed. Since the monsoon is approaching, we are removing illegal construction built upon the drains in the area as they disturb the water flow. The structure was built on the drain,” an official from the MCD west zone said.
Officials did not answer why this particular property was selected and whether action will continue on other properties in the lane.
To be sure, the Supreme Court in November 2024 laid down guidelines for such bulldozer action, stating that no demolition should be carried out without prior 15-day notice to the owner of the property and without following the statutory guidelines. The Supreme Court said the notice shall be served upon the owner by registered post and fixed on the outer portion of the structure. The notice shall contain the nature of unauthorised construction, details of the specific violation, and grounds for demolition. The demolition has to be videographed, and violation of guidelines will invite contempt.
The MCD did not respond to queries, seeking to ascertain if these guidelines were adhered to.
Meanwhile, political leaders condemned the violence in the locality.
Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Virendra Sachdeva said, “We welcome the demolition of the illegally constructed house of the family accused of violence and murder by the Delhi Police and the MCD.”
Minister Parvesh Verma, sharing a video of the demolition on X, posted: “The victim’s family will get complete justice!”
Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said he visited Uttam Nagar, but the police did not allow him to meet the family of the deceased.
On the demolition action, he said, “This is a fight between two models in BJP. The Modi model and the Yogi model. Let’s see what happens ahead.”