New Delhi: The murder of a man, accused in a sexual assault case in 2014, allegedly by the brother of the girl in Jail No. 8 of Tihar Central Jail on June 29 has raised many questions.
The family of the deceased, Mehtab, a native of Behrampur in Uttar Pradesh, has questioned how the girl’s brother, Zakir, managed to reach his cell and jail.
The family has also raised doubts about the claims that only Zakir could have carried out the crime saying that the victim was around six feet tall and of a much better build than the youth who has been accused of killing him. While Mehtab’s torso bore several stab wounds, the family has said there were no injuries on his arms or other parts of the body, suggesting that he had been held by several people while he was being stabbed.
‘Mehtab was often asked for money, beaten in jail’
Mehtab’s relative Tanweer Ahmed told The Wire that he had been in jail since June 2014 when he was accused in a sexual assault case under Section 378 of Indian Penal Code. “He used to drive a taxi and was associated with a travel agency in Nizamuddin. That was when he was accused of the crime,” Ahmed said.
He said that over the years, the jail staff made several demands for money from the family. “He was also assaulted on a few occasions. A complaint was also filed in court but following an internal probe nothing major emerged,” he said.
Mehtab’s mother Jahida also said that over the course of the last six years, his family had paid Rs 10,000 on about seven or eight different occasions as demands for money were repeatedly raised. “Only recently on June 24, we sent another Rs 4,000,” she said, adding that Mehtab had also complained of assault.
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Mehtab’s brother, Abdul Shami, said his brother used to stay in Berhampur and only travelled to Delhi for work as a driver. When in Delhi, he used to stay in the Medina Masjid jhuggi (slum) in Nizamuddin near DPS Mathura Road.
‘Mehtab was accused of drugging girl’
As for the crime in 2014, Shami said the prime accused in the case was one Asif, who was now lodged in Jail No. 4 of Tihar Central Jail. “Brother (Mehtab) was only a co-accused. The girl, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar, had complained that when she asked for water, he handed her water which carried some drug,” Shami said.
He said that the girl had later died in August 2014 but that there was no evidence against his brother who had spent six years in jail for the crime. “The next hearing was on July 17 and our advocate told us that he may be released soon,” he said.
Shami said the family knew that the girl’s father’s name was Sher Khan but did not know Zakir personally. “Zakir was in jail for the last two years. But he was lodged in Jail No. 4, in which prime accused Asif was also lodged. We don’t know how he came to Jail No. 8 and why would he have not attacked the prime accused and gone after my brother, who hardly had a role in the crime,” he said.
‘How is it that Mehtab did not resist attack despite repeated stabbing’
Stating that “Mehtab was nearly six feet tall and well built,” Shami said, “I suspect that at least five people would have been involved in the crime because he would have resisted any attack forcefully.” He also added that “the body did not bear any scratches or other marks of resistance”.
The family, he said, learnt from the jail authorities about the murder on June 29 evening. “While the incident is said to have happened early in the morning, someone informed us before the jail authorities at around 4 pm.”
An FIR registered on a complaint by Warder Jasbir Rana stated that Rana was on duty on the day of the murder from 5-30 a.m. to 1-30 p.m. and it was while he was doing the “ginti (counting)” in Ward 4 that he heard a commotion on the first floor.
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FIR says Zakir told the warder he took revenge for his sister
Soon after, Rana told the police, he saw Zakir, who resided in Ward No. 4, A Block Barrack 2, running down the stairs. Zakir had a blood-stained knife in his hand and he came running down the stairs and towards the gallery, saying “mainay apni behan ka badla le liya (I have avenged my sister)” and that “Mehtab ko kai chaku maaray hain (Mehtab has been stabbed several times)”, the warder narrated in his complaint.
He said he first took the knife from Zakir and, with the help of others, sent him out of the ward. He then rushed upstairs and found Mehtab lying in a pool of blood. Mehtab, who was lodged in Cell BC-6, was then taken to the dispensary of Jail 8 where he was pronounced dead. The body was later taken to DDU Hospital at 9 am where the post-mortem was performed.
A statement by the deputy superintendent of jail was also recorded in the FIR which stated that the weapon of offence had been prepared with an iron ‘patti’ (strip).