‘Criminal has no religion', says dad of slain Delhi man who objected to lewd remarks against daughter
NEW DELHI: Disappointed at the turn of events after his son’s murder, businessman Dhruv Tyagi’s elderly father on Thursday pleaded for peace saying that he “hadn’t called for the Shoksabha to turn into a communal ground”. “I don’t support them (the protestors). They are highly rigid in doing this (of banning the Muslims). I am a Hindu Brahmin, (but) I don’t hate Muslims. When my son and my grandson were attacked, it was a Muslim neighbour who came on his own to take them to the hospital,” Ved Tyagi told this newspaper.
“I had organised the Shok Sabha (condolence meet) so that our friends, our relatives, and our well-wishers come together to express grief… so that I can thank them for their support. We didn’t wish to make this a communal...political ground,” he implored.
The bereaved family along with their relatives and friends gathered at a dharamshala in Moti Nagar at 2 p.m., wherein they were joined by the Tyagi Samaj and the Akhil Bhartiya Brahmashri Mahasangh, who later went ahead with a “community meeting” to make a proposal against Muslim outsiders in the national capital. They later went out on the roads, raising slogans against the Muslim community.
“They created havoc. I tried to stop them but they didn’t listen to us. I did not want it so I came back; all our family members came back. Nobody in the family has a communal approach. We are against criminals...they have no religion. They (the attackers) must be senseless people. They could be vagabonds. You can imagine how cruel they could be. They took such a big step to kill someone so brutally. They should be hanged. I only demand for justice,” said the 82-year-old aggrieved father.
Recollecting the night of the incident, Ved Tyagi said: “My son got a call. He quickly put on his clothes and left the house with teary eyes...didn’t tell me anything. I was confused and then a kid in the family said something had happened to Dhruv.”
Dhruv Tyagi, 51, was stabbed multiple times by the accused when he objected to lewd remarks on his daughter. His 19-year-old son, Anmol, who tried to rescue him and came under attack as well, remains in a critical condition.
“Dhruv didn’t go with the intention to have a scuffle. He wasn’t brutal. He would have carried a rod or some other weapon, if he wanted to pick up a fight. He just went to explain to them that they were wrong in passing comments against his daughter.”
The octogenarian added that his grand-daughter, who was verbally harassed by the accused, was now “regretful” after her father’s death. “She thinks it was her fault that she complained to her father about those men. It resulted in such a big loss.”