Two men stabbed in Northeast Delhi, security deployed to maintain peace

Police said a case under IPC section 307 (attempt to murder) has been lodged against Zaid who is on the run. Police said no prior cases have been found against him so far.

The DCP added that bystanders had caught Zaid and locked him inside a shop, but his uncle, along with others, came and set him free. “Now, he (the uncle) is helping us trace him. Three teams have been formed to nab Zaid. Meanwhile, teams of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in the area,” said DCP Tirkey.

Explaining the sequence of events, a senior officer said, “Zaid and the two brothers were at opposite stalls when Rahul and Zaid exchanged glances. When Zaid asked him why he was staring at him, Rahul argued with him… both began hurling abuses at each other… Zaid, who had a knife with him, then went towards Rahul and stabbed him in the abdomen.”

The officer added that Sonu tried to intervene and was also stabbed in the arms. Both are undergoing treatment at GTB Hospital. Police said while Rahul was initially admitted to the ICU, he was later shifted to a general ward.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses told The Indian Express that bystanders had caught hold of Zaid but he escaped with the help of a group of men. “We kept him inside a shop, with the shutters down, to stop him from escaping. That’s when around 10 to 12 people came and started demanding that we let him out… Eventually, the shutter was opened and Zaid, along with the group, fled the spot,” claimed an eyewitness.

While Rahul works as a salesman at a private firm, Sonu is a washerman. Senior police officers said Zaid is a carpenter.

Rahul’s father Ram Swaroop, who works as a daily wage labour, said, “We did not know Zaid was our neighbour till this incident took place… I got a call from a person claiming that my son and nephew have been stabbed… I quickly rushed to the spot.”

Rahul’s sister Madhu added: “After dinner, around 9.30 pm, my brothers went out to eat ice cream. The stalls are barely a few metres from our house… We have never seen Zaid in the neighbourhood, let alone have any personal enmity with him.”

“While fleeing on his motorcycle, he also threatened to kill me…,” she alleged.