Don’t Turn Delhi Into Kasganj Over Murder, Say Ankit Saxena’s Kin

The Ankit Saxena murder will be remembered as one that has changed Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar forever.

The shops are open, the kids are out playing and the streets are busy – at first glance, nothing seems out of place in Raghubir Nagar. But the air in this West Delhi neighbourhood is heavy with anger, angst, disappointment and fear.

Anger about the gruesome murder of a 23-year-old on a busy street, angst over the safety of their loved ones, and disappointment over the failure of many passersby and onlookers who did nothing to save Ankit Saxena.

“I took Ankit’s mother to the hospital when she was in labour 23 years ago,” said Rajiv Pathak, an acquaintance of the Saxena family who runs a clinic in the locality. “I had to take her again again this time, but with her dead son,” he told The Quint.

On the evening of 1 February, Ankit Saxena, a photographer who hails from a Hindu family, got into a fight near his house with the family of his alleged girlfriend, who is a Muslim. The tussle quickly turned violent and Saxena was stabbed in the neck, police said.

Disappointed That No One Tried to Help Him: Saxena’s Family

Saxena’s mother has been recovering from trauma in Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lal Hospital since the death. His father, who is in Haridwar to perform his last rites, had earlier appealed that the murder not be given a communal colour. Echoing his sentiments, the other family members of the young man said they would resist attempts to add a religious tint to the issue.

Ashish Duggal, his cousin, told The Quint that it was disheartening to find out that no one came forward to help Saxena from bleeding to death.

People gathered around, and shot videos of the whole incident, instead of stopping the row. We don’t want any other family to go through what we just did.

Ashish Duggal, Ankit Saxena’s cousin

“We hope for instant justice and will demand that a fast-track court takes up the case so that the culprits get what they deserve,” Duggal said, adding that the family was content with the help they had been getting from the Delhi Police.

I hope that no communal tensions erupt over this muder, he said.

This is not about two communities and I request the people and media to not give the incident a communal angle. We don’t want Delhi to turn into Kasganj over Ankit.

Ashish Duggal, Ankit Saxena’s cousin

Saxena’s family members were also quick to dismiss reports that he was involved with a Hindu right-wing group.

Heavy Police Cover in West Delhi’s Khayala

Days after the murder, several units of paramilitary and the CRPF are still deployed in West Delhi’s Khayala and adjoining areas in a bid to curb any communal tension, should tensions erupt. Security personnel were stationed at Saxena’s house, as well as the house of the young woman in question – a few hundred metres away.

Delhi police said that the woman has been moved to Nari Niketan from her house after she alleged on video that there was a threat to her life from members of her family.

“The three accused – her mother, father and uncle – have been sent to judicial custody. Her minor brother has been sent to juvenile home,” police said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that his government would work to help Saxena’s family get justice in the case.

अंकित के पिताजी से बात की। जो हुआ उसकी जितनी निंदा करें उतनी कम है।

अंकित को न्याय दिलाने के लिए दिल्ली सरकार बड़े से बड़ा वकील खड़ा करेगी। हम हर सम्भव कोशिश करेंगे कि दोषियों को सख्त से सख्त सज़ा हो।

भगवान अंकित के परिवार को शक्ति दे। इस संघर्ष में हम उनके साथ हैं।

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 4, 2018

Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Gupta and senior leader Sanjay Singh visited the family of the deceased.

Neighbours Fear For Their Safety

When this reporter went to the young woman’s house on 4 February, nobody was home. Neighbours said the Delhi Police moved Saxena’s family to safety the day before (3 February), following reports of threats to their lives.

The neighbours, overwhelmed by the heavy police cover and the swarm of media personnel, say they are afraid to step out late at night. A few neighbours told The Quint that they saw protesters near the woman’s house before the police had been deployed. “It’s hard to get rickshaws to my place after 6pm as the rickshaw pedallers don’t want to come to this locality,” said one of her neighbours.

I fear for the safety of my children after hearing that someone got murdered in the middle of the market few meters away from my home. They came to live next to us two years ago, and I regularly saw the boy (Ankit Saxena) come by. It is shocking that the family did something so violent.

Jyoti, neighbour

The young woman, believed to be Saxena’s girlfriend, used to work at the Alisha Beauty Parlour in the locality – a small establishment that is owned by her aunt. The shutters of the once buzzing beauty parlour have remained drawn since the day of the murder that changed the lives of both families.