An 18-year-old man succumbed to his injuries two days after he and his parents were attacked with a meat cleaver by a neighbour on the street in West Delhi. His parents had died soon after the attack.
The surviving members of the family — two girls aged 8 and 20 and a boy aged 14 — are now solely dependent on the latter who, despite being underage, works at a local store for a paltry sum.
The family protested outside the local police station on Friday, demanding a house since they cannot keep paying rent.
“I want the government to listen to our plight and at least give us this house under my elder sister’s name,” the 14-year-old said. His elder sister, who is married, added that they were unable to afford the rent amount of Rs 3,500 per month.
The 8-year-old girl is the only member of the family who went to school, but the family says she may have to drop out soon. “I don’t think I can depend on my husband to cover my sister’s education,” her elder sister said.
On Wednesday, the 43-year-old accused had stabbed the couple and their son in the street even as several people begged him to stop, and some recorded the incident. Police said the accused, who was arrested the next day, was also charged under the POCSO Act after his own daughter alleged that he had tried to sexually assault her.
Police said the accused harboured a grudge against the family over a previous incident in which a soft drink bottle was accidentally dropped on his head by the victims’ children. On Wednesday evening, the accused had a heated exchange with the woman living in his neighbourhood. When the accused was later confronted by the woman and her family members, he retaliated by attacking them with the meat cleaver.
