In a brutal and tragic incident, a 16 year old Hindu girl was stabbed more than 20 times and subsequently bludgeoned to death with a stone by her alleged boyfriend, Sahil Sarfaraz, in northwest Delhi’s Shahbad Dairy area. The Delhi Police revealed that Sahil, aged 20, had been in a relationship with the girl but took her life following a quarrel. The 16-year-old girl, named Sakshi, was en route to her friend’s son’s birthday celebration when she was intercepted by Sahil in an alley. There, he mercilessly stabbed her multiple times and subjected her to further assault with a stone.
Grim attack
The horrific attack was captured on CCTV, and the bone-chilling footage has been shared online. The video shows the young girl being pinned to a wall and repeatedly stabbed by a young male. Shockingly, as the murder unfolded, numerous people passed by mere inches from the attacker, yet no one intervened or uttered a word as the young girl’s body crumpled to the ground. The assailant continued his assault for over 90 seconds, kicking her body before eventually walking away.
A case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Shahbad Dairy Police Station in Delhi. The exact number of stab wounds and other medical details will be determined after a post-mortem examination. The accused was arrested from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh hours after the gruesome crime.
Political Reaction
Similar to every crisis in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party chose to hit out at Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena rather than condemning the attack. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chose not to mention the Love Jihad angle even after this gruesome murder and played petty politics by continuing with its blame game.
Kejriwal tweeted: “A minor girl is brutally murdered openly in Delhi. This is very sad and unfortunate. The criminals have become fearless, there is no fear of the police. LG sir, law and order is your responsibility, do something. Safety of people of Delhi is paramount…”
Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also tweeted, declaring: “If LG saab is not doing his work then what is the responsibility? The law and order situation in Delhi has reached the lowest level. There is open bloodshed. Even today the incident of Shahabad is very shameful. LG saab has completely failed.”
Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal said the city ‘has become extremely unsafe for women and girls’ and called on the centre to summon a high-level meeting between Shah, Saxena, Kejriwal and herself.
“16-year-old girl was stabbed 40-50 times and then was hit by a stone multiple times after which she died. All this has been captured on CCTV. Several people saw this but did not pay heed. Delhi has become extremely unsafe for women and girls. I appeal to the central govt to call a high-level meeting with union home minister, Delhi LG, DCW chief and Delhi CM,” she said.
Delhi, the capital of India, has always been the epicenter of protests and rallies, but in the last few decades, along with the political movements, Delhi has become the hub of crime against women. With each passing day, Delhi seems to be losing the human touch. More than the brutality of Sarfaraz, it was the neglectful attitude of the passersby, the residents of Delhi, that killed the innocent girl.