Day on,slain cafe owner’s kin say accused shielded

Blaming the police for “insufficient investigations”,they had stormed the police station on Thursday,resulting in injuries to at least five protestors and nine policemen.

A day on,the gravity of the situation is weighing down on Arif’s relatives,but they reasoned that the local police were trying to shield the accused.

According to elder brother Najish,Arif had met the girl about eight years ago in his school at Shakti Nagar — they were neighbors and often went to school together. Over the years,Najish said,the two got closer but the woman’s family later shifted to Sonia Vihar in Khajuri Khas. “But he (Arif) stayed in touch with her over the phone and often visited her house,” Najish said.

On April 11,Arif’s friend Abbas said,the woman’s father called Arif repeatedly on his cellphone,inviting him to his Sonia Vihar house. Police officials said around 9.30 pm,when Arif was at his restaurant New X Café,one Gagan arrived on a motorbike and asked him to come with him to the woman’s house.

Arif got on Gagan’s bike and left,said Abbas,who was with Arif at the time.

“Arif’s brother Danish called me around 11 pm saying the woman had messaged him on his phone saying her father and some criminals were beating Arif with iron rods,” Abbas said.

According to Abbas,he,Danish and Najish rushed to Sonia Vihar and found Gagan,Rohtash,the woman’s father,one Gudiya and one Pintu beating him with rods. The assailants reportedly tried to flee when the trio arrived but Abbas claims he caught hold of Gagan.

Meanwhile,a woman had called the police saying residents had caught a thief. The police registered a case against her later for making a false PCR call after she confessed that the woman’s father had forced her to make the call.

Arif died during treatment at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. According to Abbas,Arif told him during treatment that his fiancee’s father had found out about their affair and had called him to their house to assault him.

Gagan,Pintu and Gudiya have been arrested. The protestors on Thursday had sought the arrest of the woman’s father and Rohtash as well.