Faridabad murder shocks nation, family alleges ’love jihad’, 2 accused arrested

Mangalore Today News Network

Faridabad, Oct 28, 2020:     As news of a brazen abduction-turned-murder in Haryana’s Faridabad flashed across the nation and the police arrested the two accused in the case, the victim’s family said it was a case of ‘love jihad’ gone murderously wrong.

 

It took 10 teams of Haryana Police and a five-hour-long midnight chase to nab the man accused of shooting the 20-year-old girl in broad daylight in Faridabad on Monday afternoon. By Tuesday, a friend of the accused had also been arrested.

The victim was shot dead outside Aggarwal College where she had come to appear for her exams. Nikita Tomar, a final year B.Com student, had just written the exam and stepped out of her college when the two accused stopped their car by her side. They began to pull Nikita inside the vehicle - a Hyundai i20. As Nikita resisted the abduction, one of the accused pulled out a revolver and fired one round at her.

The victim’s mother and brother Navin Tomar, who were waiting outside the college, took her to a hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.

The accused, identified as Tausif, is a resident of Kabir Nagar in Gurugram’s Sohna and was known to the victim. Another accused Rehan is a resident of Mewat’s Rivasan village. Both the accused have been taken into two-day police remand.

Faridabad Police Commissioner OP Singh said Tausif had abducted the same woman in 2018. An FIR was registered at the Ballabhgarh City police station. The families of both Tausif and Nikita later reached an understanding and asked the court that proceedings in the case be quashed.

“Strict action will be taken against the accused,” said Singh, who is also the brother-in-law of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

FAMILY ALLEGES CONTINUOUS HARRASSMENT, LOVE JIHAD

The victim’s father, Moolchand Tomar, has alleged it to be a case of ’love jihad’. “Tausif was constantly trying to pressure Nikita to convert in order for them to get married but she was not ready for this. The FIR currently doesn’t mention ‘love jihad’ but the police commissioner has assured that the FIR will be amended suitably,” Moolchand said.

The victim’s brother echoed his father’s allegations. Navin said, “In 2018, he (Tausif) used to pester her to get married. He even kidnapped her after which we got an FIR registered. Police had arrested him too but we took back the complaint because of social propriety. But this time, on the date of her last exam, he came with a weapon which shows that he was fully prepared so that he could abduct and marry her after changing her religion. This is a matter of love jihad. When he couldn’t succeed, he shot her. In 2018, his relative who was a minister had also created pressure on us.”

ACCUSED AND HIS POLITICAL LINKS

Nikita belonged to a middle-class family and lived in Faridabad’s Sector 23. The 21-year-old Tausif is a third-year physiotherapy student. Tausif’s father Zakir is a lawyer in Nuh.

Tausif belongs to a political family. Tausif’s grandfather Kabir Ahmed was an MLA from Mewat. His grandfather’s brother Khurshid Ahmed, one of the tallest leaders from Mewat, was elected to Haryana Vidhan Sabha on five occasions and served as a minister in the state cabinet. Tausif’s cousin Aftab Ahmed, son of Khurshid Ahmed, is a Congress MLA from the Nuh constituency.

Tausif’s uncle Javed Ahmed had fought the 2019 Haryana Assembly elections on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket from Sohna constituency but he lost.

KILLED HER BECAUSE SHE WAS GOING TO MARRY SOMEONE ELSE: ACCUSED

Meanwhile, the accused in the murder of 20-year-old Nikita Tomar in Faridabad has confessed to the crime during the police interrogation. Tausif said he killed Nikita Tomar because she was about to get married to someone else.

During the investigation, it was also found that accused Tausif and Nikita had a phone conversation on the intervening night of October 24-25, a day before she was murdered in broad daylight.

The phone conversation between the victim and the accused lasted for more than 1,000 seconds (16 minutes), according to police.

Tausif also said that he murdered Nikita Tomar to exact revenge for his 2018 arrest. During the interrogation, he told police, "I couldn’t study medicine because I was arrested. And hence I took revenge."

PROTESTERS DEMAND JUSTICE, BLOCK FARIDABAD HIGHWAY

The incident triggered protests with students and local residents blocking the Sohna-Ballabgarh road for several hours on Tuesday. The victim’s family also sat on protest.

Protests were also held outside the college of the woman with her friends demanding stringent punishment to the accused.

The victim’s mother urged authorities to take strong action against the accused, saying she will not cremate her daughter until the accused is "encountered."

However, after assurances of a timely investigation by the police, the victim’s body was handed over to the family for final rites and the protest was called off.

Courtesy:India Today