A 32-year-old man was shot dead allegedly by a group of men in east Delhi’s Ghazipur early Monday, triggering a series of events that eventually caused severe traffic congestion on three arterial interstate highways during peak Monday morning rush, gravely inconveniencing commuters, office-goers and Class 10 students appearing for their board exams.
While the family has claimed that he was killed because he objected to the illicit sale of diesel by his colleagues, police maintained that a monetary dispute was the reason for the murder. Two men were arrested in connection with the murder, senior officers said.
Deputy commissioner of police (east) Abhishek Dhania said the victim was identified as Rohit Singh, 32, a resident of Ghazipur village who worked for a private contractor, and the arrested men were identified as Nazim Khan, 40, and Talib Khan, 24.
According to police, their control room received a call around 3.30am from Lal Bahadur Shastri hospital about a man being brought in with a gunshot wound. When police reached the spot, they were informed that the man was brought to the hospital by his cousin Akash Singh and he succumbed during treatment.
Singh’s uncle Satbir Singh, 49, said Rohit’s office was near the Ghazipur landfill. “On Sunday evening, he came to know that a few of his colleagues were selling diesel illegally. He and his colleagues had a violent fight over this near his office,” Satbir said.
“Akash Singh said he and Rohit were returning after collecting diesel from somewhere near the dumping yard around 3am when, near Phool Mandi, Rohit was shot by a group of men who came in a car. Based on this information, a case was registered on charges of murder,” said an officer, asking not to be named.
Police said it was Akash who took Rohit to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries.
The family later staged a protest on the National Highway-24 for nearly four hours demanding the arrest of the suspects. Traffic on three arterial interstate highways was brought to a standstill during the peak morning rush hour and protesters dispersed only around 11am after police informed them that two men have been arrested.
DCP Dhania said that during preliminary interrogation, the suspects allegedly said they had a monetary dispute with Rohit. “Their version is being verified. More details on the motive will be revealed once all suspects are arrested,” he said.
Protest causes snarls on DME
The protests by the family of the slain 32-year-old man and scores of Ghazipur villagers, demanding the arrest of the murder suspects, caused severe congestion on three main roads connecting Delhi and Ghaziabad — the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, its parallel National Highway (NH)-9 and NH-24 — and in several parts of east Delhi for nearly five hours on Monday morning.
The gridlock inconvenienced commuters, office-goers, and students appearing for Class 10 Board exams. Several students reached exam centres in east Delhi, near NH-9 and the expressway about 10 to 15 minutes late. Social media abounded with videos of students and parents sprinting on the road in an effort to reach the centres in time for the mathematics exam.
Mamta Upadhyaya, mother of a Class 10 student at Ahlcon Public School in Mayur Vihar Phase-1 whose exam centre was at Dashmesh Public School in Vasundhara Enclave, said, “The road around Dharamshila hospital was chaotic.We took 30 minutes to cover the road which usually takes only 10. With our car unable to move forward, I had to walk with my daughter to the exam centre. Students were sprinting on the road to reach on time. At least 10 students in my daughter’s class reached late and they were given 15-16 extra minutes to complete their paper.”
Sanjay Yadav, principal of the Ahlcon International School, said, “Students who had their centre at our school arrived just in time. Two students who had their centre at the Dashmesh Public School arrived late. I called the CBSE regional director urging to give them compensatory time and it was granted.”
Traffic police said around 7am, protesters blocked one carriageway of NH-24 — from Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan to Ghaziabad. Later, they blocked all carriageways of the two national highways and the expressway and traffic came to a standstill, with tailbacks stretching for kilometres on either side of the border, traffic police said.
Traffic was heavy on the alternative routes of Delhi-Noida Link Road, the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) Flyway, the Ghazipur-Ashok Nagar route, Vikas Marg, and GT Road between Seemapuri and Kashmere Gate.
Nivedita, a 27-year-old Supreme Court lawyer, said, “I left my Vasundhara residence around 9pm for a court appearance. It usually takes me 45 minutes to reach office, but today (Monday), it took me over two hours. There were snarls all around the Ghazipur border.”
At 9.40am, as the situation had worsened, the traffic police posted an advisory on their social media accounts, alerting the public about the congestion and suggesting alternative routes.
Monika Bhardwaj, additional commissioner of police (traffic) said, “Traffic diversions were made at Sarai Kale Khan, Seemapuri, Maharajpur, and Kondli borders to ensure vehicles did not move towards the highways and expressway. The situation improved after protesters dispersed around 11am.”
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