A 31-year-old tuition teacher was shot dead by an unknown assailant on Monday, 1 October in northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri area.
Talking to The Quint, the victim's family alleged that the family of his alleged girlfriend is behind the murder. He was in a relationship with the girl since 2007, they said.
The victim, identified as Ankit Mathur, taught geography and ran a coaching centre called Pinnacle Study Hub in Jahangirpuri’s Mahindra Park.
He was shot dead right outside his coaching centre by a masked man around 8:15 am on Monday morning.
Sister Accuses Alleged Girlfriend’s Brother
According to the victim’s family members, Ankit was in a relationship with a girl he had met in 2005 and was keen on marrying her. However, the girl’s brother did not approve of the relationship.
Ankit's family approved of his relationship with his alleged girlfriend and knew that they had been seeing each other since 2007.
The family members added that the girl visited Ankit's house regularly and would often join them on family outings.
However, it all stopped last year as the girl’s brother didn't approve of the relationship.
Ankit’s sister, Archana, told The Quint that the girl’s elder brother had earlier issued threats of harming Ankit and had asked her to get married within their Muslim community.
“My brother was very much in love with the girl. We approved of their relationship and never thought of it from the religious angle. While her father came and met us on Eid, our family would send their family sweets on Diwali,” Archana said.
She added that the couple grew worried in the recent past as they wanted to get married for a long time.
“I remember waking up one night some weeks back and I saw him crying while talking to her. He would finish his classes at 9 pm, come home, eat dinner and talk to her on WhatsApp. It was during one of their conversations when I saw him crying.”Archana, Ankit’s sister
Ankit’s sister also ruled out the possible involvement of any student, saying that all his students were very fond of him.
“Ankit did not have any tiff with anyone. He did not socialise a lot. He managed his classes, taught students and came home. Even his students knew about the relationship and prodded him to invite them to his wedding,” Archana said.
She added that the couple was planning to for a court marriage as even the girl's father approved of Ankit.
The girl’s father also had no objection. He did try finding a suitable match for her in the last two-three years but used to say, ‘These boys are not like Ankit’.Archana, Ankit’s sister
Ankit's sister also told The Quint that the family had decided to get the two married, provided her family also agreed as they both were crossing into their 30s.
Student Alerted Family
Ankit's family said that one of his students, who was there when the sequence of events unfolded, alerted Archana that her brother had been shot.
The Quint tried reaching out to the girl’s family but did not get any response.
Police Probes Murder
While no arrests have been made so far in the case, the police has detained members of Ankit’s alleged girlfriend’s family. According to the police officials, the motive behind the murder has not been ascertained.
SHO Mahindra Park, Ashok Vishnoi, confirming the murder, said Ankit was shot at 8:15 am in the morning and the PCR received a call at 8:23 am. An investigation in the murder is underway.
No one has been arrested. We are investigating all possible angles.Ashok Vishnoi, SHO, Mahindra Park
People in the locality also said they heard gunshots, after which a PCR was called. They, however, said that the police arrived at the spot 40 minutes later.
DCP of Northwest Delhi, Aslam Khan, said that the motive behind the murder was not clear. He, however, confirmed that the victim’s family allege involvement of the girl’s family.
Although not confirmed by the police, he said that it could also be a case of personal rivalry.
As of now, there is no communal angle to this murder.Aslam Khan, DCP, Northwest Delhi
Ten teams have been formed under the charge of SHO, Mahendra park, and special staff has been assigned to investigate the murder.
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