New Delhi: After a man was shot dead in Taimoor Nagar on Sunday night, Monday morning saw protests by his kin and neighbours, which brought traffic to a standstill in south east Delhi.
Cops were seen giving assurances to the residents that strict action will be taken against drug traffickers in the area, who are suspected to be behind the murder.
CCTV footage of the crime scene shows the victim Rupesh being shot dead by an armed assailant in front of his house and children. The footage shockingly shows passersby doing nothing to help Rupesh.
Umesh, Rupesh's brother, told Millennium Post they had complained to cops about drug peddling in the area several times. Now, with Rupesh's death, Umesh fears that he too may be attacked.
"After earlier complaints, a few days patrolling was done and then stopped," said Umesh, from the mortuary at AIIMS, where his brother's body was sent for post-mortem.
Umesh also suspects that the accused might have shot Rupesh dead as they were hurling abuses in front of his children, to which Rupesh had vehemently objected.
"I just lost my father a few months ago. Now my brother is no more," said a crestfallen Umesh.
Another relative said they had alerted a PCR van in the vicinity immediately after the shooting, but the van staff told them to call 100.
Meanwhile, more than 200 policemen were deployed in Taimoor Nagar on Monday, after vehicles were vandalised in protest of the murder.
Additional DCP (South East) Ghanshyam Bansal tried to reason with the residents, telling them that a strategy is being chalked out to curb drug trafficking in the area.
"We will not allow any illegal activity to happen within the Delhi Police land," Bansal told the protestors.
Locals, meanwhile, claimed that drugs are being supplied from nearby areas and demanded strict action against the concerned police station.
The protest brought traffic to a crawl for more than an hour, as hundreds of men and women thronged Mathura Road, CV Raman Marg and Mata Mandir Marg. Umesh's body was brought on the road by the protestors, demanding justice. Further, Jatin Chaudhary, Rupesh's uncle, claimed that he was injured during lathi charge at the protest spot.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range) Devesh Srivastava himself visited the spot to take note of the situation. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Chinmoy Biswal assured the protestors that action will be taken against the culprits.
Meanwhile, police said that a vigilance enquiry has been ordered to examine the role of the local police station in the entire fiasco.