A man accused of stabbing a 15-year-old to death on board a Delhi-Mathura train on Thursday evening told the police that he was intoxicated and instigated by fellow passengers to attack the boy and his brothers, Hindustan Times reported on Sunday.
“I was drunk. They told me to attack the boys because they are cow eaters,” the accused, Ramesh, told the police after his arrest on Friday. Four others have been detained for questioning.
Ramesh was part of the mob that allegedly stabbed the 15-year-old boy to death and injured three of his brothers on a Mathura-bound train on Thursday. The minor was identified as Hafiz Junaid. His three brothers – Hashim, Moin and Sakir – were hospitalised with stab wounds.
The four brothers had boarded a local train from Delhi’s Sadar Bazar Station around 5.30 pm on Thursday after shopping for Eid. They were heading home to Ballabhgarh in Haryana, an official from the Government Railway Police had said.
Ramesh had boarded the train from Ballabhgarh and saw some men fighting over seats, the police said. The incident turned communal after the mob repeatedly called the brothers “anti-nationals” and “beef eaters” and threw their skull caps on the floor. The police said Ramesh had joined in since he was drunk.
“So far, he has revealed that he was intoxicated on Thursday evening, and that he boarded the coach at Ballabgarh after realising there was a fight taking place inside,” Haryana Railways Superintendent of Police Kamaldeep Goyal was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
“He got involved in the argument and has stated that when the crowd egged him on, he became violent with the boys. He has claimed that he was the one wielding the knife, but we still have to conduct further investigations to confirm that,” Goyal added.
Junaid and brothers Shaqir and Hashim had been stabbed on board the train soon after it left Ballabgarh station. Junaid later died of the stab wounds he had sustained in his arms and thighs at the Civil Hospital in Palwal. The victim’s brothers have identified two attackers among the people detained. The weapon has yet to be recovered.
The accused was produced in court on Saturday morning and taken into three-day police custody for further interrogation, the police said. They have added the charge of hurting religious sentiments to the FIR filed in the case. Hashim was summoned to the police station on Saturday morning to identify the culprits.
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