Three of family dead after dispute over parking space

Scuffle ends with death of two brothers and wife of one of the deceased

Three members of a family were killed following a dispute over parking space between two brothers in north-west Delhi’s Model Town, the police said on Friday.

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the case.

Jaspal Singh Aneja, a property dealer and financier, his wife Prabhjot Kaur, and Jaspal’s younger brother Gurjeet Singh Aneja, who owns a restro-bar in the area, were killed in the incident, which occurred on Thursday night.

The brothers lived on the ground and first-floor of the same building.

‘Ego issues’

The police said the duo had been embroiled in property dispute for the past seven years. The family said that the ‘murders’ were an outcome of ‘ego issues’.

The family members said that Jaspal was escorting a friend out of his house on the ground floor around 11.45 p.m. on Thursday when Gurjeet came along with his restaurant bouncer and a private security guard (PSG).

A police officer investigating the case said that Gurjeet stopped his car at a parking space over which the two families had fought over several times in the past.

The brothers started verbally abusing each other.

“Jaspal then challenged Gurjeet to come near him. When Gurjeet came out of his car, Jaspal, who had gotten into his own car, tried to run over Gurjeet’s foot. The bouncer and the PSO then intervened. Enraged, Jaspal pulled out his kirpan and started stabbing Gurjeet. His PSG then fired one shot in the air,” the officer said.

Jaspal’s daughter Harpriya (24) and wife Prabhjot, and Gurjeet’s son Jagnoor then intervened in the fight.

Jaspal allegedly stabbed Jagnoor and the two women allegedly started beating Gurjeet, the bouncer and the PSG with sticks.

Personal security guard

“The PSG then fired his gun. One bullet hit Prabhjot in the eye and another hit her upper thigh. Jaspal was also shot twice,” the officer said, adding that the brothers were likely drunk at the time of the incident.

Satnam Singh, the elder brother of the two deceased, said that he was visiting the two brothers when the incident happened.

‘Over in two minutes’

“I had just said goodbye to Jaspal and had gone to bring my car from the parking, which was a few metres away. By the time I came back, it was all done. It didn’t take more than two minutes,” he said, adding that Gurjeet and Jaspal had stopped speaking to each other a few years ago.

The family said that Prabhjot was rushed to Pentamed Hospital by her daughter, while Gurjeet and his son Jagnoor were rushed to Fortis. Jaspal, who had managed to walk to a neighbour’s house in an injured condition, was found by the police and rushed to Max Hospital.

Gurjeet, Jaspal and Prabhjot were declared brought dead. Jagnoor is still undergoing treatment. Nine PCR calls were made in the incident, the police said.

Talking about the history of the property dispute, Mr. Singh said that after their father Harnam Singh passed away in 2011, Gurjeet and Jaspal had fought over how the property would be divided.

Though they came to some sort of resolution, the two families often argued over parking space.

“They had about 18 cars and the fight over who would park where was a major problem. Who owns what part of the property was an issue they fought over often. They wanted each other to vacate the premises. The enmity increased over the years,” said Mr. Singh.

The police have registered two FIRs: one based on a complaint by Harpriya, and another based on the complaint by Gurjeet’s wife Mintu, who witnessed the incident from the first floor of the house.

“The PSG, Vicky, and the bouncer, Pawant Kumar, have been arrested by a police team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Hukma Ram,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West) Aslam Khan.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/three-of-family-dead-after-dispute-over-parking-space/article23703827.ece