On the night of September 28, a group of women armed with bricks and stones gathered outside Shaheen’s residence in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar following a street altercation earlier that evening involving Tek Chand, the uncle of the late Tarun, and Shaheen’s 22-year-old brother-in-law, Azharuddin.
“The women heavily pelted our gate with stones, and some men from Tarun’s family broke into the house,” Shaheen recounted. At the time, only women and an elderly grandfather were inside, she said, leaving them to face the unruly crowd on their own.
According to Shaheen, Azhar was riding his two-wheeler to a nearby market to buy groceries between 9 pm and 10 pm on Monday when he met Tek Chand. An argument followed. Shaheen said Tek Chand slapped Azhar first, grabbed him by the collar and abused him. Azhar, she said, hit back to push him away in self-defence.
CCTV footage reviewed by The Observer Post appears to show Tek Chand slapping Azhar before the confrontation escalated into a larger fight between members of the two families, who live in neighbouring lanes. Tarun’s family lives in the lane behind Shaheen’s.
Muslim Family’s Women Harassed by Late Tarun’s Family
The family further alleged that later that night, Azhar’s female cousin, who works in Noida, was returning to her home in Hastsal, in the same lane as Shaheen’s house, when Tek Chand and other men from Tarun’s family confronted her. They allegedly slapped and abused her. “Here she comes, hit her first,” Azhar’s sister-in-law Shaheen recalled them shouting.
Behind the latest confrontation is a family that Shaheen says has been left without most of its male members.
Nearly 20 men from her extended family have been arrested or jailed since the investigation into Tarun’s death began, she said. Many were young and still studying. One of her brothers was studying law. Two were minors, and one remains in the Juvenile Justice Board.
The family now relies largely on its women and elderly grandfather to manage the household, legal proceedings and day-to-day responsibilities, Shaheen said. She described the September 29 incident as another blow to a family already struggling to cope with the prolonged legal proceedings.
Later that night, following the altercation, Azharuddin was taken into custody and sent to Tihar Jail, while Tek Chand was released, the family alleged. They also claimed that the station house officer refused to register their formal complaint.
Shaheen alleged that Tek Chand, who is a key witness in the murder case, subsequently filed what she described as a false case against her family. She also named Sahib Kumar Asiwal, a local BJP councillor, alleging that he help Tarun’s family avoid consequences.
Shaheen said her family does not disregard the loss suffered by Tarun’s family. She said they understand the grief of a family that has lost a young man, while also waiting for their own sons and brothers to return home.
“What we cannot accept is being treated as guilty by the people around us and ignored by the police officers whose door we keep knocking on,” she told the observer.
“We believe in justice. We believe we will get it from the court because we are innocent. The truth will come out soon. There is no evidence against us. They are harassing us because we are Muslims and helpless. They have everyone with them – the police, the government and local leaders. It has become harder to get justice,” she added.
Tarun, 26, was attacked on Holi night, March 4, in Uttam Nagar’s JJ Colony following a confrontation that police said began after a water balloon splashed a woman from a neighbouring family. Tarun had died in the hospital next day.
The two families, both originally from Rajasthan, had lived in the area for more than 50 years. Murder charges and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were subsequently added to the case, in which 20 members of Shaheen’s family have been named as accused.
