A roadside food vendor has his cart placed barely five metres away from the spot where Ankit Saxena's throat was publicly slit on a busy Thursday evening, but says he had left the area much before that day. Three men at an automobile workshop, just next to a tree under which Ankit Saxena was lying with blood oozing out of his throat, say they had left the spot half an hour ahead of the murder, while a battery shop owner five steps away was away and returned only 10 minutes after the murder.
Such was the horror among the witnesses in front of whom the entire bloodbath unfolded as Saxena was attacked by the family members of his girlfriend and his throat was slit with a chopper, in full public view. However, on Monday, these people claimed to have not witnessed the cold blooded murder.
Paramilitary and additional force of Delhi Police remained deployed in the area on Monday for the fourth consecutive day.
It was on Thursday night, when Ankit Saxena (23), a photographer by profession, was murdered by the outraged family members of his 20-year-old “girlfriend” who had opposed the proximity between the couple. Just hours after the murder, four people, including the mother, father and uncle of the woman were arrested. Her brother, a minor, was also apprehended for the crime, police said.
Right in front of the scene of crime is 'Vaishno Bhojan corner'. On Monday, he said he had left the locality around 4 pm on Thursday, pointing out at a nearby auto workshop, which remains open till late evening.
On the other hand, three men at 'Bedi Auto Engineering' workshop claimed that the unfortunate incident unfolded after 7.30 pm and that they all had left the spot by 7 pm. It was not more than five steps away from the scene that a battery shop owner claimed he had returned to his shop just minutes after the killing.
In contrast to all these claims, it was only a Pan seller, Pappu, who said he saw and heard the ruckus. “leaving my shop I rushed to the spot. Meanwhile many others from the vicinity rushed in and two people including a man and a woman were nabbed at the spot. Almost every shopkeeper from the locality was here. Not every day such things happen. If no one wants to admit it, I can't help,” Pappu said, adding that he has not been approached by the police so far for any assistance.
DCP West district, Vijay Kumar, said that the parents are also eye-witnesses in the case and apart from them 2-3 people were also present there.
Reacting on the same, deceased's father also said it is shameful for a society where my child was killed in front of 100 others, but none of them stepped forward to help. “If tried, public could have easily saved him. I pity this society. Now all I want is that the culprits must be hanged to death. We had to rush him to hospital on an e-rickshaw, with his body half hanging out. Somehow, when we managed to reach, the doctors declared him dead,” said Yashpal Saxena, Ankit's father.
He also appealed to the media to not communalise the matter and said that certain religious outfits have approached the family but we are not entertaining them. The two families, of accused and Saxenas, were neighbours for at least six years, some four years ago when Ankit and the woman became friends, the family informed.