Police said the two had registered nine cross-FIRS against each other under various sections.
For the last one year, Jaspal Aneja and his younger brother Gurjeet have not been on talking terms. The last time the families came face-to-face was at a cousin’s wedding at in Mayapuri, but the two didn’t acknowledge each other even then.
But that wasn’t always the case, said relatives. The two were inseparable growing up — from playing cricket to attending festivals at the local gurdwara.
“Their father, Harnam Singh Toofan, was an authoritarian figure, like a godfather in the locality. He would sort out political disputes and even police officers would touch his feet. Both brothers were scared of him,” said Ravinder Singh Kohli, their cousin.
The two boys spent hours talking to Kohli and their elder sister, Raji, trying to find ways to tackle their father’s anger. But as their father grew old, fissures in the brothers’ relationship started to erupt.
“Their father had started erecting wooden planks after the two began fighting over property,” Kohli said. Eventually, their father divided the property — Jaspal got the ground floor, Gurjeet the first.
The only way the brothers would interact was through criminal complaints. Police said the two had registered nine cross-FIRS against each other under various sections.
Jaspal’s wife had also registered an FIR against Gurjeet, and the property dispute was also being heard in court.
The fights between the two families had escalated to such an extent that nine CCTV cameras had been installed by them since they feared for their lives, police sources said.
Now, with the three deaths hanging over the families, the elders have decided to make sure the children of both brothers talk to each other. “They should not bay for each others’ blood and a dialogue must take place between them. After the final rites are conducted, the children will talk,” said Raji.