New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) The first rays of Sunday morning witnessed the world of Meena Devi collapse as she learnt that her 21-year-old son, whom she had bid farewell to as he left for the birthday of a friend’s child, would never return after he was shot dead allegedly by a Delhi Police “head constable” following an altercation.
The alleged incident occurred in the Jaffarpur Kalan village around 2.30 am, when Pandav Kumar, a food delivery agent, and his friend Krishan were standing on a road after attending the birthday celebration. The accused, identified as Neeraj, allegedly opened fire at point-blank range following an argument, police said in a statement.
Pandav was killed, while his friend was injured in the firing. The family alleged that the accused is a Delhi Police head constable, a claim not confirmed by the police.
According to the police, the Jaffarpur Kalan police station received information at around 2.30 am from a hospital regarding the admission of two persons with gunshot injuries, one of whom was declared brought dead.
Sitting outside the police station, Pandav’s mother Meena Devi wailed as she recounted the sequence of events. “My son had gone to celebrate the birthday of his friend’s child at his house. We live in Kumar Colony in Uttam Nagar, and after the celebration, they were leaving for work,” she said.
Eyewitness and Pandav’s friend Rupesh Kumar described the alleged chain of events.
He said around 10 people were present for his son’s birthday, with some leaving in a car while others were on a scooter and a bike. As the car left, a man came down from the roof and started questioning them about their presence, and that man was identified as Neeraj.
He added that despite informing him that it was his son’s birthday and they were heading home, the accused began abusing them.
“He started screaming, ‘You are Bihari, leave from here,’ and even abused my mother and sister. He told me to call someone named Deepak. When I went closer to him, he suddenly took out a gun, I don’t know from where, maybe his pocket. The boys on the scooter got scared and started to move away, but he loaded the gun again. He kept abusing us,” Rupesh said.
Struggling to hold back her tears, Meena Devi alleged that the accused then fired at them.
“The moment he got to know that we are from Bihar, he opened fire and fled,” she claimed.
“My son Pandav was shot and died there. His friend Krishan was also shot and is injured. We are from Bihar, yes, but why was he so angry about that?” she said.
She added that Pandav was one of her two sons.
“We never imagined something like this could happen. Our children go out at night to work, how will they go now if they can be shot like this on the way?” she asked.
Demanding justice, she said that if someone makes a mistake, they can be punished, beaten, or sent to jail, but questioned how someone could take a life in such a manner.
“They killed my son. We were waiting for him to come back home, not knowing that we would instead get a call saying he had been shot. Even now, we have not been allowed to see his body,” she said.
She further said that the family had been told they could see the body only after the post-mortem.
“They say we can only see him after the post-mortem, maybe on Sunday or Monday. The police say they have CCTV proof, but they are not showing it to us and keep asking us to trust the investigation,” she added.
Rupesh also said that he tried to seek help immediately after the incident and that he did not have a phone at that moment, so he ran to get one and tried calling the police but no one picked up. He said they then rushed the injured to the hospital and that he had never seen the accused before, adding that the man was alone and fired suddenly, with one bullet hitting both victims.
Rupesh further said that the accused was angry only because they were from Bihar and that he also remarked that people from Bihar are building houses and earning money. He added that the accused himself was from Haryana and that they had never seen him before or known that a head constable lived there.
A family member, expressing grief, demanded strict punishment.
“He should be punished, he should be hanged. He killed my brother and deserves the same. He was a young boy, and with his death, our entire family feels destroyed. He had responsibilities and was working hard for all of us. Why was he killed just for being from Bihar? Is there no value for Bihari people? We are only asking for justice,” he said.
The family also alleged that the accused was under the influence of alcohol and had objected to Pandav standing on the road with his friends, asking about his caste.
The police said a preliminary inquiry confirmed that the victims had attended a birthday party of a two-year-old child at their friend’s residence. After the celebration, they were talking to the hosts on the road before leaving.
According to the police, Neeraj, who lives on the opposite side of the road, came down and got into an argument with them. During the altercation, he allegedly fired at Pandav, who was on a motorcycle, aiming at his chest from close range.
“The bullet pierced through Kumar’s chest and exited his body before hitting Krishan, who was sitting pillion, in the right side of his abdomen,” the statement said.
Both were rushed to a nearby hospital, where Pandav was declared dead, while Krishan is undergoing treatment.
A case has been registered against the absconding accused and efforts are underway to nab him, police said.
They added that Neeraj is a native of Bahu Akbarpur village in Meham in Haryana’s Rohtak and has been living alone for the past 15 years.
Police said they are probing the sequence of events leading to the altercation, and further investigation is underway.
Meanwhile, family members and locals gathered at the Jaffarpur Kalan police station, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused and strict legal action. PTI SGV MNK MNK
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