A spat over yielding space in a traffic jam ended fatally for a middle-aged motorcyclist, who was beaten to death by five people even as his sons unsuccessfully tried to get police to intervene. One of the accused has been arrested.
Shahnawaz, a 38-year-old resident of I.P. Estate area in east Delhi, was returning home from a family function with his two sons on a motorbike when it was hit by a car near Turkman Gate in Daryaganj on Sunday night, police said on Monday.
The incident took place around 11.30 p.m. on Sunday. Shahnawaz owned an electrical shop on Mata Sundari Road while his parents lived near Turkman Gate in the old quarter of Delhi.
One of the accused has been arrested, Delhi Police chief B.S. Bassi told the media.
"Shahnawaz was beaten to death by five people. One of the accused, Mohammed Wasim, has been arrested and the hunt for the remaining four is on," Bassi said.
He said all the five accused were local builders.
Shahnawaz's sons Fahad (13) and Kaif (9) rushed to the police post situated across the road where they pleaded with two policemen to help their father but to no avail, their 50-year-old grandmother Noorjahan told IANS.
On receiving no help, they went running to their grandmother and told her about the incident.
But by the time the family reached the spot, it was too late. The family rushed the heavily bleeding Shahnawaz, lying on the road, to the nearby Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital where he was declared dead.
However, the victim's relatives said Wasim was not the "real culprit".
"Police are trying to save the real accused by arresting other people," Suzauddin, the victim's uncle, told IANS.
"We demand quick arrest of all the five men who are actually responsible for my nephew's death," he said.
Shahnawaz's family members and relatives on Monday continued a protest they had launched on Sunday night against the authorities for their lax investigation.
They held a cloth banner which featured Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's picture along with those of the accused, demanding quick arrest.
According to Suzauddin and other relatives, the accused were local strongmen and are 18 brothers.
The victim's family named Badshah Khan, Jamaluddin Sheikh, Kamaluddin, Shafiq Sheikh, Nizamuddin Sheikh and Hazi Jalaluddin as the accused.
The family also circled the accused people's faces on the banner.
"Police are saying there were five accused, but actually there were six," Suzauddin claimed.
Witnesses told police that five men were inside the car which slightly bumped into Shahnawaz's bike from the side on Sunday night.
According to the witnesses, the driver of the car told Shahnawaz to move his vehicle sideways, but when the victim said he was unable to do so due to heavy traffic, an argument broke out between them.
The car's occupants beat him up after a heated argument.
People and the victim's relatives gathered at the spot and protested against Delhi Police through Sunday night and also damaged a few vehicles leading to traffic chaos in the area. Protesters blocked the nearby roads.
On Monday, heavy police arrangements were made in the Turkman Gate area over the rising tension.
The victim's father, 60-year-old Salauddin, is a scrap dealer.
Shahnawaz has three younger brothers, Wasim (33), Faisal (32) and Suhail (19).
He is survived by his 33-year-old wife Farzana and three children - the two sons who witnessed the crime - and a five-year-old daughter Talbia.
