Hang all of them, victims's mother tells Kejri

“We want death for the accused,” said Noor Jahan, mother of Turkman Gate road rage victim Shahnawaz, as tears welled up in her eyes during a meeting with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday.

“We are not interested in compensation or job for any family member. We want death penalty for the accused,” she said, blessing Kejriwal by touching his head with her hand.
“Our son was so concerned about your cough and always prayed for your well-being. We never thought we would meet you in such a situation,” said Noor Jahan, who came to the Secretariat along with Shahnawaz’s son, Fahad, who witnessed the crime on Sunday night.

Kejriwal asked the area legislator and Environment Minister Asim Ahmed Khan to give a blueprint on supporting the victim’s family and taking care of his children’s education, according to a Chief Minister’s aide. Law and Justice Minister Jitender Singh Tomar assured all possible legal help to the family.  

According to police, Shahnawaz, 40, was beaten to death in front of his two children by a group of men after his motorcycle grazed their car in Turkman Gate. Five accused have been arrested.

While the AAP has accused the BJP of politicising the incident, the BJP has demanded action against Khan for allegedly shielding the accused, a charge denied by the minister. Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay led a party team to meet family members of Shahnawaz in Turkman Gate to offer condolences. There was a brief commotion as some area residents objected to politicians’ visits.

Upadhyay also wrote a letter to Kejriwal demanding that Asim Khan should be dropped from the cabinet for allegedly putting pressure on police to delay the arrest of the culprits and file a weak First Information Report.

The BJP has planned a demonstration on Thursday outside Kejriwal’s residence to demand Khan’s sacking. The Congress said the accused, perceived to be close to the AAP, should not try to take the law of the land lightly.

“Three of the names in the FIR are people associated with the AAP. We want AAP to not back those involved in the incident. Also, the accused should not think that they are above the law just because their AAP party’s government has come to power,” said Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken.

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the party was contemplating taking legal against the BJP.“The SMSes sent by the BJP to some journalists were objectionable and we are contemplating to take legal action,” he said.