We demand capital punishment for accused: Kin of northeast Delhi murder victim

New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) Family members of the teenager who was murdered in northeast Delhi had plans to get him a chocolate cake for his 18th birthday next February.

They demand capital punishment for the minor accused who inflicted 55 stab injuries on the teenager during the grisly murder that took place in Janta Mazdoor Colony on Tuesday.

An apparently inebriated 16-year-old stabbed the teen multiple times times, slit his throat, dragged the body through the street and did a jig while he carried out the grisly crime.

The teenager's elder brother said he wanted to join the family's business of embroidery and knitting.

'We have a very small business of embroidery and knitting near our house in Jafrabad. But everything is shattered. I demand capital punishment for the accused,' he told PTI over phone.

Some of the horrifying details of the killing were captured on CCTV, the 2.23 minute footage also showing the accused threatening those around him.

The accused was taken into police custody on Wednesday morning and has confessed to the murder. Officials said that he did not know the 17-year-old whom he had asked for money to buy biryani.

'Did you see the video? Was he (accused) acting like even a human being?' the victim's elder brother said.

'His birthday is on February 4. I had promised him that I will buy a chocolate cake for him as he would have turned 18 next year,' he said about his brother, the youngest of three siblings.

The CCTV footage shows the accused teen dragging a person through a narrow bylane and going on to stab him multiple times..

'My mother is still numb with shock and my sister is trying to compose herself. But she is not responding and just staring at my younger brother's picture.' 'I could only see a few seconds of the CCTV footage.. It was my brother who was lying in a pool of blood with the accused stabbing him repeatedly on the face, neck, his back, underneath his eyes -- more than 55 times. I have asked my family members not to show the video to my mother at all,' his elder brother said.

'We personally feel that the accused is not a juvenile and is about 20-22 years old, ' he added.

'The accused should be tried as an adult and capital punishment should be awarded to him,' he said and added that he hoped his brother would get justice.

Recalling the events of the day leading to the murder, the elder brother said he had given money to his brother to buy milk and other groceries from a nearby store at about 6 pm on Tuesday.

'But he started playing with some of his friends and later went to the area where the accused stabbed him to death,' 'He killed my brother just to get Rs 350 to purchase some food. My only question is why did he kill him?' Meanwhile, investigators said the accused has not shown any remorse during questioning.

Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal said the video of the incident is 'heart-wrenching'.

'In Delhi's Welcome area, a boy killed a minor boy by stabbing him 60 times and started dancing after the murder. The horrific video of this incident is heart-wrenching. It scares me to think how people with criminal mentality are in such high spirits,' she said in a post on X in Hindi. PTI BM SLB SKY SKY