The victim, Ankit Sagar
A yellow Delhi Police tape cordoned off Pinnacle Study Hub in Jahangirpuri, and three policemen were stationed outside so that locals don’t get too close. A 10-man team from Mahendra Park police station has been trying to crack the murder of Ankit Sagar (31), who was shot in the head by a masked assailant waiting for him at his coaching centre. In terms of hard evidence, all police have so far is footage from a CCTV camera.
On Tuesday morning, police spent most of their day tracking down faculty members who taught there. They made a list of students, and went through Ankit’s call record details.
The FIR mentions the murder took place between 8 am and 8.20 am. “A constable attended to the call of murder, but could not take Ankit’s body to a hospital as a heavy crowd blocked his way, until the SHO and ATO arrived at the scene,” states the FIR.
Hours after Ankit’s murder, his family had claimed he had been in a relationship with a woman from a minority community for the last 10 years, and objections from her brother may have been behind the murder. However, DCP (north-west) Aslam Khan said: “There are a few theories we have, but no one has been named as an accused.”
Amid claims by neighbours that Ankit and his elder brother Jai Pravesh had an altercation a few months ago, Pravesh said: “There was a fight in our family after Ankit argued with my father. But we sorted the matter peacefully in the family.”
On Tuesday, Ankit’s family was visited by members of a right-wing outfit who offered to help with the case. But his father Amar Singh turned down the offer. “This murder was not because of religion. People are trying to make this into a communal issue when it is not,” Amar said.
(Bhumika Pant is an intern with The Indian Express)