New Delhi: It was a dispute over parking that led to the murder of Asif Qureshi, 42, resident of Delhi’s Jangpura and paternal cousin of Bollywood actor Huma Qureshi, allegedly by two residents of the locality Thursday night.
The two accused, who are brothers, have been apprehended, the police said Friday.
According to the police, accused Ujjwal, 19, had parked his scooty in front of Asif’s house around 10.30 pm and a verbal altercation ensued. Asif told Ujjwal to remove the vehicle as it was blocking the way.
In the spat that followed, Ujjwal was joined by his brother Gautam, 18, and the latter took out a sharp object, a shiv, from his pocket and attacked Asif, hitting him on the chest. The 42-year-old died before he could reach hospital, the police said.
A CCTV camera captured the incident and shows people trying to intervene and hold off the accused from attacking Asif.
“Around 10.30 pm, the accused and the victim had an altercation over parking of a scooty belonging to the accused. One of the accused attacked the victim with a sharp, pointed object on the chest, resulting in death,” DCP (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said.
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior police officer said that Ujjwal started hurling abuses at the deceased. “Asif requested him to remove his scooty but Ujjwal did not pay heed. When he requested again, Ujjwal got aggressive and started abusing and threatening him.”
“In a matter of seconds, he started beating him recklessly and called out to his younger brother, Gautam, who came downstairs. Gautam took the weapon out of his pocket and stabbed Asif in the chest multiple times,” he added.
The accused brothers then fled the spot but were arrested with the help of local and technical surveillance.
According to police sources, Ujjwal is a college dropout and worked as a music teacher in Lajpat Nagar. Gautam dropped out of school and had run-ins with the law as a minor.
The weapon used in the crime has been recovered and an FIR relating to murder lodged at Hazrat Nizamuddin police station.
The senior police officer said Gautam had a shiv and had removed its back end. “He would carry it around in his pocket. His father repaired transformers and he picked one from his home,” he added.
Police sources said an altercation had taken place between the accused and deceased last November too.
“The brothers had attacked the victim earlier too. Neighbours intervened and the matter was resolved. The brothers are known in the locality for creating disturbance,” the officer quoted earlier said, adding that no police complaint was made in this regard.
Asked if it was a premeditated murder, the officer said, “further investigation is on; We are probing all angles”.
Suresh Kumar, a neighbour of the deceased who runs a shop in the area, told ThePrint, “My wife and I were having dinner when we heard the noise outside. The two had started beating up Asif.”
Asif is survived by his wife, Shaheen, and two children, a 21-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter from his first wife.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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