New Delhi [India], March 16 : The mother of the 26-year-old man, Tarun, who was killed in Delhi's Uttam Nagar area after a clash broke out between neighbours from different communities during Holi celebrations, has demanded strict action against the accused, saying that no action has been taken on their appeal, neither do they know who has been arrested yet.
Speaking to reporters here, the grieving mother alleged that the incident began over a minor dispute involving a water balloon thrown by her seven-year-old niece. "Nothing has been heard yet on our appeal. When they are shot, I will be at peace. I want the same thing to happen to them as the Yogi government does to criminals... My son has left this world. May no one else's son leave. They say 16 people have been arrested, but they haven't even shown us who they are," she said.
According to her, the confrontation escalated after a few drops of water from a balloon accidentally fell on the woman named Saira. "Because of just a drop of water, my son has been killed... The beginning of everything was that my 7-year-old niece was standing on the second floor, and I was standing just below my house. She was playing. A 7-year-old girl doesn't know what colour is. From her hand, the balloon fell down. A few drops of water fell on that lady named Saira. Upon this, Saira started threatening her, saying that I will get you raped by my family members. I asked her, how can you say this about a girl?" she alleged.
She further claimed that within a short time, the woman called several people to the spot. "In such a short time, she called 20-25 people. Some of them are women, and some of them are men... Tarun didn't know anything... It happened at night. She called her men," she said.
Describing the alleged assault, the mother said she was attacked during the incident. "A lady named Salima hit me with a rod on the face. Some men tore my blouse... They hit my brother-in-law, husband, son, and my brother-in-law's son. They said they will finish Khatiks today," she alleged.
She expressed disappointment that, according to her, no Dalit leader had visited the family after the incident. "Still, no Dalit leader has come to me... I want justice for my son. If the Yogi government does it, why can't Rekha Gupta do it?... She hasn't even come to meet us yet. Our daughter went to meet her," she said.
Tarun's father also demanded strict punishment for those involved in the attack. Thanking people who have protested seeking justice, he said, "I would like to say to the people of the country that the way everyone is protesting for Tarun, we are thankful to everyone. We are doing all this to get justice for Tarun. All the criminals should be punished severely."
He claimed that the family had no prior dispute with the accused. "We didn't have a fight with them (attackers' family)... but sometimes, they threw water and acid at the street dogs. Sometimes they used to hit them with sticks and stones. Our kids used to scold them for hitting dogs. Slowly, we started feeling that they had made Tarun their target because of this... A balloon fell from the girl. She is our family's daughter. The balloon fell near her (the lady from the attackers' family) feet. It didn't fall on her. Still, she started screaming. Many people came to her."
The father alleged that the attackers came with sticks and stones and vandalised their house before the police arrived. "They came with sticks and stones. They started beating us. Then we went inside the house. They were kicking the gate. They broke the windows of our house... The police came after an hour of the fight... The administration is doing its job. We ask the administration to hang the accused or get them murdered in an encounter. We ask the administration to break their whole house," he said.
This comes after the Delhi High Court on March 10 directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) not to undertake any demolition action against the homes of persons accused in the murder of Tarun, until the court hears the matter on Wednesday.
According to police officials, the incident occurred on March 4 after a dispute reportedly broke out over a balloon during Holi celebrations, which later escalated into a violent altercation. During the clash, Tarun was allegedly assaulted and later died due to the injuries.