A youth was stabbed to death and his two brothers injured when a group of people attacked them inside a crowded train following a dispute over a seat.
The incident took place at the Ballabgarh railway station in Haryana on Thursday evening.
The police said the prime accused has been arrested and more people are likely to be detained soon.
‘Had come home for Id’
The deceased has been identified as 17-year-old Junaid. His brothers Hasib (21) and Shakir (23) suffered serious injuries.
While Shakir is recuperating at the AIIMS Trauma Centre in Delhi, Hasib has been discharged. All are residents of Khandawali village in Faridabad.
Rafiq Ahmed, a close friend of Junaid’s family, said there were 15 to 20 assailants. “The men snatched the skullcap of one of the brothers, hurled religious slurs at them and called them beef-eaters,” he said.
“The brothers are students of a madrasa in Gujarat and had come home a month ago to celebrate Id. They [Hasib and Junaid] had gone to Sadar Bazar [in Delhi] along with two of their friends to buy clothes and sweets to prepare for the festival. They were in a hurry to return home to break roza . The incident has left everyone shocked,” said Mr. Ahmed.
Crowded train
As per the FIR, the brothers and their two friends had boarded a local train at Sadar Bazar around 5.30 p.m.
The assailants boarded the train at Okhla.
As the train was very crowded, there was much pushing and jostling, leading to an argument.
To prevent the situation from turning ugly, the four decided to get down at Faridabad railway station, but they were unable to do so as it was very crowded inside the coach.
Hasib then called his brother Shakir and a few friends, telling them to come to the Ballabgarh railway station. It was here that the assailants stabbed Junaid, the police said.
In his complaint, Hasib told the police: “Shakir and his two friends managed to board the train and a scuffle broke out when the assailants again hurled abuses and religious slurs at us. When we resisted, they held Shakir down while one of them stabbed him in the neck and chest. Junaid tried to rescue Shakir but the assailant stabbed him multiple times”.
When the train halted at Asaoti railway station, the assailants jumped off the train and fled.
Hasib and his friends took Junaid to the Palwal Civil Hospital where he was declared dead.
A post-mortem examination was carried out and Junaid’s body was handed over to the family on Friday.
‘More arrests soon’
Haryana Railway Police SP Kamal Deep Goyal, said the prime accused in the case has been arrested.
“One of the accused in the case has been arrested. He has confessed to having stabbed Junaid and his brothers. More arrests are likely,” said Mr. Goyal, refusing to divulge the name of the accused or the place of arrest.
