JOIN USA man was stabbed by his relatives over a property dispute in south Delhi’s Kotla Mubarakpur on Friday.
The group also tried to attack his mother and sister-in-law, but they escaped by locking themselves in a room. Five men have been arrested on both sides over scuffles in last two days, police said on Saturday.
Bachu Singh, a resident of Aliganj village, is undergoing treatment for stab wounds in the chest and abdomen. Police said he was attacked outside his house by Raj Kumar, Bachan Singh, Rahul, Rohit, Azab Singh, Sonu and Rajbir.
Bachu’s family is involved in the business of cable TV service in the area.
Bachu’s family told police that the dispute was over a small piece of ancestral property on which he constructed a shop last month.
“It is alleged that the shop was built after demolishing a toilet on the plot,” said a police officer. The ownership of the demolished part of the plot was claimed by Bachu’s cousins Raj Kumar, Bijender, Bachan Singh and Azab Singh. It often led to heated arguments and scuffles between the relatives.
One of the arguments broke out late on Thursday during which Bachu along with his brother Bijender, sister Usha, mother Incha and Bijender’s wife Asha thrashed Bachu’s cousin Bijender. “Bijender’s son, brothers and nephews went to Bachu’s house to avenge the attack at 4.30 pm on Friday. They were armed with a sword, knives and rods,” the officer added.
Bachu was standing outside the house, while only Incha and Asha were inside. In her statement, Asha told police that Bachu was attacked with knives by Raj Kumar and Bachan Singh.
Sonu was carrying a sword, while Bijender’s son Rahul and Azab Singh hit Bachu with rods. Asha claimed that she tried to intervene, but was attacked on the head by Rajbir. “Once Bachu collapsed, they tried to enter into the house. I bolted the main door from inside, but they broke open the door. I was hiding in a room with my mother-in-law Incha,” Asha told police.
The group ransacked the house before leaving.
A case under the Indian Penal Code has been filed over Asha’s statement with Kotla Mubarakpur police station.