Khyala murders: Help pours in for kids
POLICE, NEIGHBOURS CHIP IN Bank account opened in name of two minors; relatives not willing to take care of them We have multiple eyewitnesses and strong scientific evidence against the killer and these will ensure that he remains in jail. His family is also against him, so the children needn’t worry about their safety.
MADHUP TIWARI, JCP (southwestern range)
NEW DELHI: Till Wednesday, the two children had a family — a father, mother, an older brother and an older sister. By Friday, their world had turned on its head. Their parents and older brother were dead and they did not even have money to eat or pay the rent.
The two siblings, eight-yearold Khushi and 14-year-old Aman, were orphaned after their neighbour stabbed their parents, Veerpal and Sunita, and their 18-year-old brother Akash to death on Wednesday, the fallout of a quarrel over a “trivial issue” months earlier.
Moved by their plight, the Delhi Police and local residents of west Delhi’s Khyala have stepped in to help them. The police on Saturday approached the local market associations to arrange money for the minors.
On Friday, the children and their sympathetic neighbours had staged a protest in their neighbourhood, demanding relief.
That had prompted Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik to order the local police to help them, said Madhup Tiwari, joint commissioner of police (south-western range).
“We sent the deputy commissioner of police and some NGOS to counsel the children and arrange money for them,” Tiwari said.
In about an hour of seeking donations from the local market association, the police were able to collect ₹10,000. The police got bank accounts opened in the names of the minor children and deposited the money into them. “We are making all efforts to raise more money. We have also approached the Delhi State Legal Services Authority for compensation for the children,” Tiwari said.
DCP (west) Monika Bhardwaj said plans are afoot to move the two minor siblings to a children’s home where they will also receive an education.
Until their parents’ murder, only Khushi was attending school. Her brother Aman was operating a small cart in the local market.
“We approached the relatives of the children but they were not willing to take care of the children. The oldest of these siblings, 20-year-old Khushbu, is married and lives with her husband’s family in Agra. They too aren’t in a position to take the responsibility of the children. So, we have decided to step in,” another senior police officer said.
The police said the children did not have to fear for their lives even as a police picket has been set up near their homes. “We have multiple eyewitnesses and strong scientific evidence against the killer and these will ensure that he remains in jail. His family is also against him, so the children needn’t worry about their safety,” JCP Tiwari stressed.
The accused killer was also booked for sexually abusing his 20-year-old daughter soon after his arrest. His daughter allegedly told the police that he had been violating her even when she was a minor. The man would also allegedly beat his mother with a belt. His wife lived separately because of his alleged violent behaviour.