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Ghastly murder of a minor girl on street fuels communal fire: Delhi

Violence of another kind grips Delhi: the victim, a 16-year-old girl, was stabbed more than 20 times, head bludgeoned with a stone as bystanders stand & watch

Yet another brutal crime against a young woman has been reported from the national capital, the CCTV footage of which has gone viral. A man named Sahil Sarfaraz has been was caught on camera stabbing a minor girl, named Sakshi, to death and then crushing her body with a rock. In addition to the brutality of the crime and the video, what is more shocking is the apathetic attitude of the people seen standing around as the murder takes place.

This crime gripped the capital the very next day after police brutality had been unleashed on women wrestlers protesting Delhi police inaction in registering an FIR against BJP politician and Member of Parliament, Brij Bhushan Singh.

The 16-year-old victim girl of murder, was heading for the birthday of her friend’s son when Sahil confronted her and stabbed her multiple times. The incident took place in the Shahbad Dairy area of Rohini, North Delhi. The shocking CCTV footage shows Sahil stabbing Sakshi as many as 20 times after which she falls on the floor. The knife even got stuck into the victim’s skull, following which, Sahil picked up a boulder lying nearby and smashed her head five times. All the while, around 5-6  bystanders could also be seen passing by casually even as the gruesome incident is taking place, without helping the victim.

In unusually prompt action, the accused Sahil has been arrested by the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahar. A FIR under Section 302 of the IPC at PS Shahbad Dairy, has also been registered against Sahil. Reportedly, the 20-year-old was a fridge-AC repairing mechanic, and was in a relationship with the minor victim. The couple had an argument a day before, the resultant of which was this grisly murder.

As reported by ANI, Suman Nalwa, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Delhi gave the following statement upon the accused’s arrest, “We will make sure that the maximum punishment is given to the accused.”

Response to the tragedy

The incident drew flak from Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal, who said Delhi has become “extremely unsafe” for women and also issued a notice to the city police over the murder of the minor girl.

“In Delhi’s Shahbad Dairy, a minor innocent doll was stabbed and then crushed with a stone. The spirits of the criminals in Delhi are high. Issuing notice to the police. All limits have been crossed. I have never seen anything more horrifying than this in my career of so many years,” tweeted Swati Maliwal, the DCW chairperson.

The post can be viewed here:

Maliwal further went on to say that the national capital has become “extremely unsafe for women and girls,” and she urged the Central government to convene a “high-level meeting” with Union home minister Amit Shah and the city’s lieutenant governor VK Saxena.

“A 16-year-old girl was stabbed 40-50 times and then was hit by a stone multiple times after which she died. All this has been captured on CCTV. Several people saw this but did not pay heed. Delhi has become extremely unsafe for women and girls. I appeal to the central govt to call a high-level meeting with Union home minister, Delhi lieutenant governor”, she said.

The video can be viewed here:

Meanwhile, a blame game started between the Delhi administration and Lieutenant Governor. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took a dig at LG V.K. Saxena, pointing out that law and order is his responsibility.

“A minor girl was brutally murdered in Delhi. This is very sad and unfortunate. The criminals have become fearless, there is no fear of the police. LG sir, law and order is your responsibility, do something,” the CM tweeted.

The post can be viewed here:

AAP leader Atishi too hit out at Lieutenant Governor, saying the Constitution has given the L-G the “responsibility of protecting people” of the Union territory.

She tweeted: “I want to remind the L-G that the Constitution has given him the responsibility of protecting the people of Delhi. But he spends all his time to halt the work of Arvind Kejriwal. I request the L-G with folded hands to pay attention to the safety of the women of Delhi as they are not safe here at all.”

The post can be viewed here:

Fodder for the Right wing

Even as this horrific incident had all right-thinking persons condemning it, much like at the time of the Shraddha Walker murder case, the Hindu right wingers have given a communal angle to this whole incident since the couple were in an inter-faith relationship. Many extremist hindu right-wingers have now used the opportunity to promote their bogey issue of so-called “love-jihad” — a term used to describe the alleged efforts of Muslims to convert Hindu women through marriage. Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra took no time to get the balls rolling on ‘love jihad’ in the case, and asked who the mastermind was behind Sahil’s brutal behaviour.

Posting a picture of Sahil after arrest, Mishra wrote, “This is Mohammad Sahil s/o Sarfaraz. This monster mercilessly killed a minor Hindu girl by stabbing her in Delhi. How is Kalava in the hands of this Sahil? This is love jihad. This is a planned attack against daughters. Who is Sahil’s master mind?”

The post can be viewed here:

Even as Altnews journalist, Mohammed Zubair fact-checked and clarified the fact that the thread on the wrist of Sahil Sarfaraz is the thread that Sufi Muslims wear, and not a Kalava that Hindus wear, Kapil Mishra deemed it as a conspiracy to disguise Sahil as a Hindu. Some have deemed this act as Islamic Barbarism.

While this communal angle gets more fire and more people start using it as an instrument to attack the Muslim community, it is crucial to ensure that the focus remains on hold the Delhi administration and the Delhi police accountable and justice is ensured in this case.

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