Two killed on Holi; fewer crimes reported on festival than last year

nNEW DELHI: Two men were murdered in separate incidents in Delhi on Holi on Tuesday, a day when the number of calls to the police control room (PCR) dipped by more than 50% compared to the festival day last year, police said.

The calls to the police about the two murders were among 8,667 calls made to the police control room (PCR) on Tuesday.

The police said that the figure stood much higher at 18,798 on Holi last year.

While one of the murders took place in north Delhi’s Wazirpur over a betting dispute, the other happened in east Delhi’s New Usmanpur over a financial quarrel.

The man murdered in Wazirpur Industrial Area was identified by the police as 27-year-old Neeraj, an unemployed man who lived in a slum in nearby Azadpur.

“Neeraj had recently won ₹5,000 in a betting racket. But he was yet to receive the money from the betting operator, Vinod,” said Hemendra Singh, deputy commissioner of police (Railways).

On Tuesday night, Neeraj allegedly visited Vinod’s home in Wazirpur and showed his “receipt” of victory in the betting to demand the money. But Vinod allegedly told Neeraj that no monetary transactions would take place due to it being a festival day.

When Neeraj insisted on collecting the money, Vinod’s three associates allegedly used a stick to thrash him until they chased him till the railway tracks nearby. There, they allegedly stabbed him to death. “We have arrested the three suspects, Suraj, Monu and Dilshad,” said the DCP.

The other murder took place in New Usmanpur on Tuesday afternoon while 35-year-old fruit vendor Kiran Pal was sitting with his friend Jai Singh on the roadside after celebrating Holi. Pal and his cousin Mithun had a long-standing dispute over R3.5 lakh.

“On Tuesday afternoon, Mithun saw Pal sitting and raised the money issue again. That led to an argument during which Mithun pulled out a gun and shot Pal in his head. The bullet also went on to scrape his friend, Singh,” said a police officer.

The suspect, Mithun, who too was a fruit vendor, was arrested within two hours of the murder.