On a narrow lane in Uttam Nagar, what began as a trivial incident on Holi involving a child and a balloon, spiralled within minutes into a violent confrontation that left 26-year-old Tarun Kumar dead on March 4, the victim’s family told Alt News.
“There was a little girl, about six or seven years old, holding a balloon,” Tarun’s father Memraj recalled while speaking to Alt News. “It slipped from her hand and burst when it fell.”
A few women were passing by at the time. The father said some water splashed near their feet when the balloon burst, which appeared to anger them. “We apologised immediately,” he said. “We told them the child may have made a mistake and that we would scold her. We asked them to calm down.”
But instead of subsiding, the argument escalated quickly. According to him, several members of the women’s family soon gathered at the spot. “Within minutes, around 50 to 60 people had assembled,” he said. “They started beating us.”
When Alt News visited JJ Colony’s A Block in Uttam Nagar East on Saturday, the narrow lanes of the neighbourhood were still heavy with tension, days after the violence. Police personnel stood guard at several corners, small groups of residents spoke in hushed tones, and charred remains of vehicles bore witness to the unrest that had followed.
After the assault, the family rushed inside their house. The attackers, Tarun’s father alleged, locked the door from outside, forcing the family to remain inside for some time. A short while later, Tarun Kumar — whom the family also called Sunny — arrived at the lane on his motorcycle.
“My son didn’t know anything about what had happened earlier,” his father said. “The fight had already calmed down and some of them were sitting nearby.” As soon as Tarun got off his motorcycle, he was allegedly surrounded. “They attacked him with sticks and iron pipes,” the father said. “They hit him on the head.”
“He had terrible head injuries. He was in a very bad condition,” he said.
With the help of a few bystanders, Tarun was rushed to a nearby hospital. “But he died there,” the father said.
The family says they had never had any prior dispute with those accused in the assault. “We had never even spoken to them,” the father said. “We have lived here for years. Nothing like this had ever happened.”
This, however, was contradicted by DCP Kushal Pal. Speaking to the media, the officer said that police investigation had revealed that the two families had known each other for nearly 50 years. According to him, both families hailed from Rajasthan and shifted to Uttam Nagar in 2004. He added that there had been occasional disputes between them in the past, including disagreements over parking, and that such quarrels were typical of those that sometimes occur between neighbours.
VIDEO | Delhi: On clash during Holi in Uttam Nagar, DCP Dwarka Kushal Pal Singh says, “On March 4 around 11 pm, information about the incident was received and additional staff, including Special Staff and local police, reached the spot. It was found that a clash had taken place… pic.twitter.com/qlx5pQcpyH
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 7, 2026
Alt News also found indications that the two families were familiar with each other and that there had been disagreements in the past. When we spoke to the local youths, one of them, who requested anonymity, said the two families had been neighbours for many years. According to him, there had been tensions between the two households in the past as well, though he refused to give out details. This time, he said, the dispute began over water splashing from a Holi balloon.
Memraj said Tarun had been pursuing a design course and wanted to support his parents. “He used to say, ‘Dad, once I start earning, I will take care of you,’” the father recalled.
Tarun was also passionate about fitness and regularly went to a gym near Dwarka Mor. Over six feet tall, he was known among friends for his strong build. “He would have been our support in old age,” the father said quietly. “Now we have lost him.”
In the hours after his death, the incident began to be framed by many as a clash between Hindu and Muslims. Protests soon broke out in the area, with demonstrators blocking nearby roads and reports emerging of vehicles being set on fire.
On the evening of March 6, a day after Tarun succumbed to his injuries, protesters allegedly entered the house of one of the accused.
According to visuals that circulated from the area, household furniture was dragged out onto the street and parts of the house were set on fire. Videos show a crowd entering the house, throwing belongings onto the road, and flames later visible from inside the building. The incident unfolded even as police personnel were present nearby. In the videos, officers can be seen standing at the spot while the crowd vandalised the property.
The day after the attack, police erected barricades around the accused’s house and restricted movement in the area, preventing residents and media personnel from approaching the spot.
When Alt News visited the locality, the impact of the incident was also visible outside the gates of three schools located at the end of the lane where the Uttam Nagar police station is situated, along the road that leads to JJ Colony’s A-Block. Guardians had gathered outside the gates of the Government Girls Senior Secondary School No. 2, Government Boys Senior Secondary School No. 2, and CM Shri School in Uttam Nagar East, waiting to take students home after they were dismissed early from school. The usually bustling stretch wore a tense look, with anxious parents and heightened police presence reflecting the unease in the neighbourhood.
When Alt News tried to move towards the site of the incident, we were stopped from entering several lanes and roads that led to the site of the violence. The usually crowded Shani Bazaar wore an unusually deserted look in the otherwise busy afternoon hours. Although some shops in the market remained open, very few people were visible.
As we turned into the lane leading from Shani Bazaar toward A-Block, the situation appeared even more stark. Every shop along the stretch was shuttered. Apart from police personnel stationed at different points, only a handful of residents could be seen standing outside.
Alt News spoke to the lawyer of the deceased’s family, Sumit Chauhan, who told us that after Tarun’s death, the initial FIR only mentioned BNS Section 308. Later, other criminal sections were added. “Today the special commissioner visited the area and directed local police to add relevant sections,” he added.
According to him, when the young girl accidentally dropped a balloon from the terrace of her house, a local Muslim woman — identified by locals as Kali alias Saira — was passing by. He alleged that the woman began shouting abuses, including communal slurs and threats.
The girl’s aunt, who was standing downstairs at the time, objected and asked her not to speak to a child in that manner. The exchange quickly escalated. According to Chauhan, the woman made a few phone calls. Within 10 to 15 minutes, around 20 to 25 people arrived at the spot. Some were women, while the rest were men.
“As soon as they arrived, two women attacked the girl’s aunt with rods,” Chauhan said. Others allegedly forced their way into the house. “They were shouting that they would finish off the Khatiks,” he said, referring to the caste of the victim’s family.
Chauhan claimed that the group broke the door and railings of the house before assaulting members of the family. As the confrontation intensified, more people gathered in the lane. He further alleged that a man identified by locals as Ismail arrived and began inciting the crowd.
Amid the chaos, several members of the victim’s family retreated inside their homes for safety. Chauhan alleged that some people from the crowd even locked the doors of neighbouring houses from outside, preventing others from stepping in to help.
About five to ten minutes later, Tarun Kumar arrived in the lane on his motorcycle, unaware of the earlier altercation. According to Chauhan, the group stopped him and began assaulting him with sticks and iron rods. He died the next morning at Mata Chanan Devi Hospital.
When Alt News tried to reach out to the neighbours allegedly involved in the incident, police stopped us a few metres from the house. Only residents were being allowed to enter that lane, that too after an identity check.
When we asked locals about the accused families, they said that after the incident everyone from the Muslim community had left their homes and no one was currently living there. Below is a video showing the lane leading to the victim’s home:
When asked about relations between Hindus and Muslims in JJ Colony, the local youth we spoke to said that people from the two communities generally lived and interacted normally amongst themselves. “People here usually live together, play together, and spend time together,” he said. “But as we have seen in recent years, though people are friendly, when religion comes into the picture, it begins to divide them.”
He added that in the roughly 15 years he had known the area, this was the most serious incident he had witnessed. “Nothing like this had happened here before,” he said.
14 Arrests So Far Including 2 Minors
As of March 9, a total of 14 people, including two minors, have been arrested in the case.
They include Saira alias Kali (40), Sharifan (50), Salma (36), Suhail alias Sahil (21), Sameer Chauhan (20), Firoz (22) and Ismail (50), along with a 14-year-old minor boy.
Earlier, following the March 4 clash, police had arrested Imran alias Bunty (38), Umar Din (49), Jummadin (36), Kamruddin (36), Mustaq (46), Muzaffar (25) and Tahir (18), as well as another minor.
Officials also told the media that after recording the statements of the victim’s family, stringent provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were invoked in the case.
The Other Side of the Story
Shahin Rangrez Chouhan, a member of the accused’s family spoke to Observer Post and presented a completely different version of events. According to her, the incident began around 11–11:30 pm on March 4, when her aunt, Sairi, stepped out to buy some items.
Shaheen claimed that although Holi celebrations had largely ended by then, water was still being thrown in the lane. When her aunt was returning home, a boy named Prince allegedly threw a mud-filled balloon at her. When she protested and raised an alarm, members of the boy’s family came out of their house. Shaheen alleged that four young men from that family were intoxicated and began behaving inappropriately with her aunt, prompting her to shout for help.
According to Shaheen, her brother then arrived at the spot after hearing the commotion, following which a scuffle broke out. When elders from both families came out, they initially tried to resolve the matter through conversation. However, she alleged that Tarun, a Bajrang Dal member, arrived soon afterwards with 20–25 men carrying rods, iron bars and hockey sticks. Shaheen claimed that the group immediately began attacking members of her family, striking them on the head. She alleged that around 12 members of her family were injured in the assault. Some of them were arrested and sent to jail without having received medical treatment.
About the assault on Tarun, Shaheen said since Tarun resembled one of her uncles, he might have been beaten up by mistake by men from Tarun’s own group. Shaheen said many people involved in the fight were intoxicated, and Tarun’s brother Arun might have mistaken him for her uncle.
Demanding a fair investigation into the matter and justice for her family, Shaheen denied that the dispute had any communal angle. She said both families had lived in the colony since it was established and had long coexisted peacefully, celebrating festivals together. However, she claimed there had been a minor dispute between the families in 2011, and suggested that unresolved tensions from that period might have contributed to the present conflict.
She also alleged that when her aunt had raised the alarm on the night of the incident, 14-year-old Rizwan came outside and was allegedly struck on the head multiple times by Tarun, causing him to collapse and suffer seizures. According to Shaheen, when Rizwan was taken to the hospital, some individuals allegedly pressured her relatives to sign documents and later took the boy away after getting him discharged. She claimed that Rizwan has been missing since then, and that the family does not know his current condition.
The Dwarka DCP’s office, however, refuted this, stating that the minor was one of the main accused in the case. He had been apprehended and sent to an observation home by the Juvenile Justice Board. “The reports of him missing are baseless and completely untrue.”
Bulldozers in Action Following ‘Goli Maro’ Chants
On the evening of March 7, protesters gathered outside the Uttam Nagar police station, raising slogans such as “Delhi Police hay-hay,” “Desh ke gaddaron ko goli maro saalon ko,” and “Jai Shri Ram.”
The demonstration soon drew a large crowd of onlookers, leading to traffic congestion on the road beneath the Uttam Nagar East Metro Station. As the jam worsened, police personnel were seen attempting to disperse the crowd outside the police station.
On March 8, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials reached the area with a bulldozer and demolished portions of a property allegedly linked to one of the accused, Nizamuddin.
#WATCH | Uttam Nagar murder case: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) carries out bulldozer action against the property of an accused. According to officials, action is being taken against the property linked to the accused Nizamuddin.
In continuation of the arrests earlier… pic.twitter.com/rPr0fU6fzH
— ANI (@ANI) March 8, 2026
Citing PTI, Hindustan Times reported that an MCD official from the West Zone said the demolition was part of a broader drive against encroachments ahead of the monsoon. “The monsoon is approaching, and we are removing illegal constructions built over drains in the area as they obstruct the flow of water. This structure had been built over a drain,” the official said.
Interestingly, the demolition drive came amid calls for bulldozer action from the victim’s family. According to reports, a relative of the deceased had demanded that authorities adopt the “Yogi bulldozer model”, urging the administration to demolish the “illegal properties” of the accused.
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.
