Barricades, Bulldozers In Uttam Nagar: Residents Say Holi Clash And Killing Wasn’t A Communal Dispute

The Hastsal Colony in Uttam Nagar is now heavily barricaded, with residents and visitors cautiously making their way through, waiting to pass under the ropes connecting the barriers. Most shops remain closed, casting an eerie silence over the area, while police personnel dot the area, cautiously watching passersby.

The barricades are designed to limit access to two houses tucked within the colony’s labyrinthine lanes, turning any attempt to reach them into nothing short of an expedition. Multiple officers are stationed at every entry and exit. “We cannot allow you to go there, it is a highly sensitive matter,” a police officer said, in a rehearsed routine.

Riot-control vehicles are stationed in close proximity, with security tightening further near the bulldozed house. 

Mukesh Kunojia travelled from Rajouri Garden to Uttam Nagar on Tuesday to see the bulldozed house of the accused linked to the alleged killing of Tarun Kumar in the locality.

The incident reportedly began when a young girl playing with a water balloon on Holi accidentally threw it onto the road, splashing water on the clothes of a woman from another community. The altercation between the neighbours soon escalated into a brawl, leading to the alleged killing of the 26-year-old Tarun.

“They did wrong to my Hindu brother, they should not have killed Varun,” 24-year-old Kunojia said, while his friend nodded emphatically in agreement. 

Tarun was away when the argument broke out, Tarun’s mother Sunita said. Unaware of the earlier altercation, he returned home around 10:30 pm after visiting a friend and parked his Bullet motorcycle. He was then allegedly attacked by a group of men, and a fight broke out. Tarun sustained injuries and was declared dead the next day while undergoing treatment.

Kunojia, after seeing the house which has been partly demolished, said that it was not enough. “They should be encountered.”

However, local residents Outlook spoke to say the incident was not a communal clash but a neighbourhood dispute.

Outside Tarun’s house in a narrow lane, over a dozen women had gathered, pushing through under the watchful eyes of the police to offer comfort to his mother. “My son didn’t even know what had happened during the day. We had apologised and the matter should have been resolved,” Sunita said. “When Tarun came back, the men surrounded him and latched our house from the outside so that we could not reach him to help,” she claimed, adding that in the afternoon, there was an attempt to break into the family’s home.

On Sunday, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi conducted a demolition drive, tearing down the “illegal portions” of a house connected to one of the accused. The three-storied corner house of the accused remains surrounded by rubble, now vacant as the families have vacated the area since the incident. 

However, Shaheen, a member of the accused’s family, told The Wire Hindi that the dispute began after dirty water was dumped on her paternal aunt, leading to a commotion. She said elders from both households then gathered to discuss a settlement. During these discussions, Tarun arrived with a group of 25 to 30 men. According to her, Tarun’s brother Arun, who was allegedly drunk, mistook Tarun for a member of her family and struck him on the back of the head, causing him to collapse on the spot.

Outlook tried to contact Shaheen, but the call went unanswered. The story will be updated if and when a response is received.

A total of 16 people have been arrested so far in connection with the case, according to media reports. On Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta met the victim’s family at her office and assured them of justice, saying on X that instructions have been issued to “ensure the harshest and swiftest legal action against all those involved in this heinous crime”.

Many streets in Uttam Nagar are adorned with vibrant Ramadan decorations. Local resident Parveen Begum*, said her neighbourhood does not harbour communal enmity. “I have lived here for over 50 years. All of us celebrate Holi, Eid, Diwali, and visit each other’s homes,” she said. 

Begum added that what happened was unfortunate and justice must be served, but “it aches my heart to see it being misrepresented as a communal issue.”

Manish Kumar Sharma, who runs the corner shop near Tarun’s home, supported Begum’s view. Knowing both Tarun and the accused personally—whom he said had been schoolmates—Sharma remarked, “The issue reignited at night, but it had already been settled during the day. This is not a Hindu-Muslim issue. That I can assure you.”

DCP Dwarka Kushal Pal Singh, while briefing the media, said that the two families had known each other for over 50 years and both originally hail from Rajasthan. He added that the inquiry revealed the families had previously been involved in minor neighbourly disputes, such as those over parking, which were not communal in nature. He also noted that the attack was carried out by hand, with no knives used.  

Singh also cautioned people against misinformation, urging them not to trust or share rumours and unverified content circulating on social media, where efforts have been made to portray the incident as communal. One post read, "This Eid, we will play Holi of blood," reportedly attributed to Lalit Sharma, who claims that "the Hindu Raksha Dal has now entered the field and we will now put Muslims in their place.”

Reacting to the video, Mohammad Faizan, a resident of the colony, said that while the situation is gradually returning to normal, provocative statements like these threaten the community’s peace. He noted that the accused family has vacated the area, and the alleged crime committed by them should not be blamed on other Muslims in the colony, for an incident that was never communal in the first place. “It is outsiders who are trying to disturb the peace,” he added.

High Court's Direction on Demolition

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday orally directed the MCD not to take any action until Wednesday against the properties of two individuals named in an FIR in connection with Tarun Kumar’s death.

The petitioners had sought protection for their residential premises in JJ Colony, Uttam Nagar, from what they described as “arbitrary and illegal” demolition. They argued that a “purely personal” dispute had been maliciously portrayed as communal, and that certain religious groups and anti-social elements were issuing threats against them. The petition requests that the MCD be restrained from demolishing their homes without following due process and adhering to the Supreme Court’s guidelines laid down in Re: Directions in the matter of Demolition of Structures (2024).

The petitioners are represented by advocates Divyesh Pratap Singh, Amit Sangwan and Bharat Mishra.

“It is not a communal issue but a neighbourly dispute, an unfortunate incident happened and a person has passed away,” Singh said. However, he added that “we are not here to argue for the accused or the non-accused, implication or false implication,” but that even if the person has been implicated correctly, “the demolition is still not right.”

Sangwan said that another accused’s family had approached him pre-emptively, fearing that their house would also be demolished. “The MCD is saying that they demolished only portions of the house which were constructed illegally, not the entire house,” he said, noting that MCD contended that if the construction is illegal, it can be demolished without a notice, as mandated by the SC.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (March 11) asked the families of the accused in the Uttam Nagar Holi clash to file improved petitions challenging the demolition action proposed by the MCD against their property.

During the hearing, Justice Amit Bansal observed that the two petitions also sought police protection for the petitioners, which could not be combined with the plea against demolition.

As the petitioners’ counsel said they were receiving threats, the court orally remarked, “They are totally different causes of action. Here the jurisdiction of this court is with regard to unauthorised construction, encroachment and demolition. Police protection is not within my mandate...You file two separate petitions,” Live Law reported.

Sangwan told Outlook that they have been given a week to file new petitions, separately for police protection and demolitions. 

The Supreme Court in 2024 had mandated that a 15-day prior notice has to be given by the MCD before a demolition. “You cannot show up with your bull-dozers and all your ramming machines,” he said, noting that the MCD has to give relevant information of illegal encroachments first.

On September 4, 2024, the Supreme Court of India raised concerns over the increasing practice by state governments of demolishing the homes of individuals accused in criminal cases—a practice now widely referred to as “bulldozer justice.” The apex court deemed such actions unlawful and emphasized the need for legal safeguards.

Justice Viswanathan noted that the Supreme Court plans to establish uniform guidelines to standardize the process for identifying unauthorised structures. These guidelines will include clear procedures for notifying affected individuals, providing them an opportunity for a fair hearing, and ensuring appropriate action is taken within due process.

The Court clarified that its intent is not to protect unauthorised constructions per se. To ensure transparency and prevent misuse of authority, it mandated that all demolitions be videographed, creating an official record of the process.

Upholding the right to shelter as a fundamental constitutional right, the Court stressed that even if a person is convicted of a serious crime, their home cannot be demolished without following proper legal procedures. The demolition of a house simply because one family member is accused or convicted amounts to collective punishment, which is wholly impermissible under the law.

*name changed to maintain anonymity