Huma Qureshi's cousin killed by two neighbours over parking dispute in Delhi; accused arrested

New Delhi | Actor Huma Qureshi's cousin was stabbed to death following a dispute over parking by his two neighbours in southeast Delhi's Bhogal area. The accused, both siblings, have been arrested, officials said.

Police said that the victim was allegedly assaulted by the brothers over parking issue three months ago, but the matter was sorted out after intervention of elders of the locality.

Asif Qureshi (42), a resident of Church Lane in Bhogal and meat supplier, sustained a grievous injury to his chest after being attacked with a pointed object (ice pick) during a heated altercation late Thursday night, an official said.

Qureshi's family alleged that the murder was premeditated as he was also attacked by the accused in the past.

The incident was captured on CCTV, a clip of which surfaced on social media platforms. The CCTV clip shows pushing and shoving as Asif is being dragged and attacked by two men, amid loud cries of help from people nearby.

"It was not the first attack on him, the accused had even earlier assaulted Asif, but it was pacified after intervention of the elders," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari told PTI.

According to police, the incident took place around 10.30 pm when Asif confronted a man for parking a scooter in front of his house.

The confrontation quickly escalated and Asif was allegedly attacked multiple times, inflicting a deep wound in his chest.

Police said the victim collapsed at the spot and was rushed to the National Heart Institute in East of Kailash, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

A case under sections 103(1) [murder] and 3(5) [common intention] of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at Hazrat Nizamuddin police station.

Ujjwal (19) and Gautam (18), both residents of the same locality, have been arrested for the killing.

"Initially, we got to know that Ujjwal, who is a musician by profession and takes classes in Lajpat Nagar, returned home and parked his scooter near Asif's main entry door. Asif asked him to remove the scooter from there.

"Angered by it, he returned with his brother Gautam and attacked Asif. Gautam took out the weapon from his back pocket and stabbed him multiple times in a fit of rage and fled," said the DCP.

He further said that Ujjwal has no criminal past, while Gautam was held previously over a fight.

Police said Ujjwal and Gautam live on the second floor of a building at Church Lane, just a few houses away from the victim's residence, police said.

Both were taken into custody soon after the incident. The body of the deceased was handed over to the family members after autopsy.

The DCP said the police have found no communal angle in the incident. The victim's second wife, Shaheen Asif Qureshi, alleged that the murder was premeditated as her husband was attacked by the same people in the past as well.

"The dispute started after a youth parked a scooter near our gate, blocking the entrance. When my husband requested him to move it a little, he allegedly began hurling abuses," she said.

He said he would move the scooter, but instead returned with more people and started abusing him, Shaheen alleged.

"Both the brothers attacked him ruthlessly. He fell down instantly and was soon covered in blood. I tried to save him, but I was pushed away. Then some more people, who live with them, also attacked and abused him," she alleged.

According to Shaheen, her husband had been previously assaulted by the same group.

"They were jealous of him. They had made an issue out of nothing. If it were just about the scooter, they could have moved it. But they stabbed him in the chest with a sharp object. This was not a sudden fight. They did it on purpose," she alleged.

She said her husband worked as a poultry businessman.

"We never talked to them. We used to sit in our own group in the neighbourhood. They treated him as an enemy without any reason," she alleged.

Shaheen also mentioned that after the attack, she immediately called her brother-in-law and rushed Asif to the hospital. However, the doctors there declared him dead on arrival.

Asif's uncle and the father of actor Huma Qureshi, Saleem Qureshi, said he was at his home when he received the call.

"Asif had only asked the boy to move the scooter a little further so that the gate wouldn't be blocked. But they turned it into a matter of ego and killed him," he said.

Describing Asif as a simple and hardworking man, Saleem said he used to supply chicken to restaurants for a living.

"No one came when the murder took place. The police arrived later and started the investigation," he claimed.

Saleem called it a heinous crime over a trivial matter. "It is a murder over a small issue. It shows how fragile tempers have become in our society. People are getting killed for the most petty reasons," he said, adding that the accused must get strict punishment and justice for the family.

Police said they are examining CCTV footage and speaking to local residents to reconstruct the sequence of events. Senior officers visited the crime scene and questioned the neighbours and family members.

"Efforts are being made to establish the motive and verify claims of previous hostility between the families," another senior police officer said.

Sharing the profile of the accused, the police said Ujjwal, a college dropout, took classes in Lajpat Nagar. He has an "aggressive mindset" and had indulged in scuffle with Asif previously also, the police added. No previous criminal record has been found against him.

The other accused Gautam, a school dropout, is unemployed, and randomly gets work for livelihood. He was previously involved in a case in Lajpat Nagar as a juvenile.

NATIONAL NEWDELHI