Several members of a family were arrested on 22 July for attacking three individuals over a parking dispute in southeast Delhi’s Amar Colony. According to a senior police officer, on 23 June, Amar Colony Police Station received a call which reported a brawl in Sant Nagar’s B-block.
Police discovered that the altercation between two Sant Nagar residents sparked over a parking matter. The victims were beaten up by Daljeet Singh, his wife Kudrat Kaur and son Harjap Singh, along with some of their family members. An official informed that the elderly couple along with Harjap and another woman were apprehended after a complaint was filed against them.
The anticipatory bail requests for three of the women involved in the instance were twice denied. Two of them were consequently taken into custody and arrested by the police. However, the high court granted temporary protection to one female.
A video of the entire occurrence surfaced on social media showing the perpetrators assaulting the three people. Following a more extensive investigation, police amended the initial First Information Report to include sections 354 and 147, 148, and 149 of the Indian Penal Code which are all related to assault or rioting with lethal weapons.
The appalling video
A video of the incident went viral on social media. A man in a blue t-shirt, accompanied by his female companion in orange, was seen standing in a parking area surrounded by several parked cars in the footage. It seemed the issue was regarding the parking of a brown Maruti Suzuki S-CROSS ZETA car. An old Sikh man in a white t-shirt with a stick in hand was conversing with the presumed owner of the vehicle while gesturing with a stick in his hand, asking him to remove the vehicle from that spot.
Shockingly, while the man in a t-shirt and shorts was responding by saying something, the sikh man struck the man with a thick stick. When a woman tried to stop him, he aggressively pushed her. Meanwhile, the women who were with the turban-clad male hauled her back as he continued to hit the victim from behind.
Two neighbors clash over parking dispute in Delhi's Sant Nagar area. pic.twitter.com/97FIFH7fMR
— Nikhil Choudhary (@NikhilCh_) July 22, 2023
The victim man didn’t try to assault back the old Sikh man despite the fact that he was hit several times by the stick with full force amid the confrontation.
Interestingly, the brown S-Cross car has an ANI sticker on its windshield, indicating that its owner works at the media agency.
Reaction of netizens
Social media users reacted to the video pointing out how one family was relentlessly attacking another family over a parking dispute.
Dibakar Dutta referred to the family as uncivilised and stated, “Possibly 55 years old but hasn’t learnt to co-exist in a civilised manner. In India, there is no outrage over casual assaults such as this, especially if it does not lead to grievous hurt. The man’s wife and daughter are equally uncivilised.”
Possibly 55 years old but hasn't learnt to co-exist in a civilised manner. In India, there is no outrage over casual assaults such as this, especially if it does not lead to grievous hurt. The man's wife and daughter are equally uncivilised.
— Dibakar Dutta (দিবাকর দত্ত) (@dibakardutta_) July 23, 2023
One user raised a question about the horrible conduct and commented, “Aren’t these our elders?”
Par yeh toh hmare bde bhai hai 🫶
— खत्री khatri ਖੱਤਰੀ Sanatani (@khatrisanatani) July 22, 2023
Ajay Sapra wrote that this is “glimpses of time to come.” He remarked, “People are losing their sanity, behavioural changes in action and thoughts.” He went on to blame the inability of the executive and the judiciary for the incident.
People are losing their sanity, behavioural changes in action and thoughts. Social media and biased politicians, police and Judiciary has convinced them that justice will not be delivered and complaint will not be addressed. Citizens are taking matters into their own hand.…
— Ajay Sapra 🇮🇳 (@ajaysapra) July 22, 2023
However, another countered the claim and posted, “A lot of Sikhs that I have met over the years always had the conviction that they can get away with anything. Let us tell the truth that this is not influenced by something recent, Sikhs are also ready to play the victim card when needed.”
A lot of sardars that I have met over the years always had the conviction that they can get away with anything. Let us tell the truth that this is not influenced by something recent, sardars are also ready to play victim card when needed.
— Marc Stylish (@MarcStylish) July 22, 2023
One netizen expressed his distress over the situation and voiced, “People are living on very short fuses these days. I’m sure, but for the parking issue that’s got them going, they must be perfectly good people who would jump to help each other when in distress. Sad.”
Sorry to see this. People are living on very short fuses these days. I'm sure, but for the parking issue that's got them going, they must be perfectly good people who would jump to help each other when in distress. Sad.
— Ravindra (@ravirao83) July 22, 2023
Similar recent incident
The instance transpired a few weeks after some of the residents of Delhi’s Mangolpuri neighbourhood battered a 37-year-old man and his parents with sticks over a parking issue. The startling event took place on 2 July at night while Kapil, a Rohini resident, was visiting his parents in the area. He was assaulted by Diler Singh and his three sons Sher Singh, Armaan and Sibbo over the parking of his motorbike.
He told the police that his 55-year-old mother and 60-year-old father Naresh were also attacked when they tried to protect him. There had always been animosity between the families.
The pair were taken to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial (SGM) Hospital for medical attention after the confrontation was reported to the police. Despite still being hospitalised, the injured are in stable condition. Diler Singh and Sher Singh were arrested for attempted murder and common intention, respectively, in accordance with the Indian Penal Code sections 307 and 34.