The relatives and fellow villagers of the four accused in the Junaid murder case, who had come to a local court here on Thursday, accused the police of acting under “political pressure” to arrest “innocent” people in a hurry to work out the case.
‘No credible evidence’
Suresh Bhardwaj, a cousin of accused Chander Prakash, alleged all four were being made “scapegoats” to satisfy the political leaders for the politics of votes and the police had no credible evidence against them. Chander, who has a four-month-old daughter, worked as an accountant with a firm in Ballabgarh. Mr. Bhardwaj, who runs a school in Palwal, said Chander's cousin was to be married on Friday and the family was shattered with his arrest hours before the function.
Pradeep Kumar (29), had been preparing for a competitive exam and was returning from a library at Faridabad on the day of incident, said his septuagenarian father Prem Raj, adding that he had nothing to do with the case. Mr. Raj, a retired Haryana Government School Cadre Lecturer, said: “Pradeep boarded the train at New Town railway station, which comes much beyond Okhla, where the argument began. He has been going to a library on Bata Chowk at Faridabad for several months to prepare for Staff Selection Commission exam. His entire career and life will be ruined with the arrest,” said Mr. Raj, fighting back tears.
Conspiracy against village
Local councillor Yudhistar said it was a political conspiracy against the village, mostly dominated by Brahmins. Mr. Yudhistar said he wanted to know how people from only one village were picked up by the police when the coach was crowded with passengers at the time of the incident. He said that a panchayat would be held in the village this Sunday against the arrests and an agitation would be kicked-off.
“Since [Haryana Chief Minister] Manohar Lal Khattar is expected to come to Faridabad next week, the police is under pressure to show some progress in the case,” he said.
Delhi Electricity Board, Superintendent Engineer, Sant Ram Sharma, a fellow villager, demanded an impartial and fair probe. “Minor altercations in trains are routine. But the most important question of who brought the knife on the train is yet to be answered by the police,” said Mr. Sharma.
