The family of Junaid, who was stabbed to death in a moving local train on Delhi-Mathura route in June following an altercation over seat sharing, has alleged that fellow villagers and those from surrounding villages were putting pressure on them to reach a settlement through the panchayat.
Speaking to The Hindu , Junaid’s father Jalauddin, a resident of Khandawali village here, maintained that members of the panchayat and fellow villagers were mounting pressure on him to settle the matter out of court.
“People belonging to upper castes such as Jats and Brahmins from neighbouring villages, including Sikri, Bhanakpur, Samaypur and Kanere, are mounting pressure on our village panchayat and residents to convince me for a decision at the panchayat. My fellow villagers are in turn forcing me to reach a settlement,” said Mr. Jalauddin.
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While the prime accused in the case belongs to the Jat community, the remaining accused are Brahmins.
Series of panchayats
“I don’t want the matter to be settled outside the court. I want to pursue it legally. Whether the court punishes them or rewards them, I will accept its decision,” he said.
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He claimed a series of panchayats were held on October 15, 17 and 18 in his village, and another panchayat was slated for October 22 to pressurise him but he contacted the police.
He said he called up Faridabad Commissioner of Police Hanif Qureshi regarding mounting pressure on him on October 21 and told him that he feared for the safety of his family.
“The Commissioner issued directions to the area Station House Officer, who summoned people from my village and the neighbouring villages. No one has come to me since,” said Mr. Jalauddin.
He said he would have considered an out-of-court settlement had the accused belonged to the neighbouring villages. “I belong to Faridabad and the accused are from Palwal,” Mr. Jalauddin said.
Referring to Haryana Additional Advocate General Naveen Kaushik allegedly “assisting” the defence counsel inside courtroom, Mr. Jalauddin said he suspected there was pressure from above to weaken the case.
“I suspect the police acted under pressure to withdraw non-bailable charges against the accused and facilitated bail for four of them. Now the government lawyer is assisting them. He has no business to be present inside the courtroom,” said Mr. Jalauddin, who has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the murder.
Haryana compensation
Mr. Jalauddin, who underwent angioplasty at a private hospital in Noida last month, said he is yet to receive the ₹10 lakh promised by the Haryana government.
“I had met Chief Minister [Manohar Lal Khattar] at his Chandigarh residence three days before Diwali. He had assured that I would get the money after Diwali,” said Mr. Jalauddin.
Meanwhile, the Haryana Wakf Board has already given a cheque of ₹5 lakh to Mr. Jalauddin and a job to one of his sons.