Ankit Sharma, a young Intelligence Bureau (IB) Security Assistant, ventured out of his house in north-east Delhi's Chand Bagh on Tuesday evening to see what was happening in the nearby violence-hit streets but he never walked back home.
The body of the 26-year-old, who joined the IB three years ago, with injuries was fished out from a drain on Wednesday morning, dashing the hopes of his family who launched a frantic search soon after they got the news that Ankit along with three others was targeted by anti-CAA protesters.
Police suspect that the attackers knew that Ankit was working with the IB and that was the reason why he was killed while the family pointed fingers at AAP leaders for the incident. Some family members alleged that AAP councillor Tahir Hussain has a hand in the incident, a charge which the lawmaker vehemently denied.
They also accused the Delhi Police of not acting fast as they did not file an FIR when they approached them and informed about Ankit not returning home.
His family said Ankit had returned home around 4:30 pm and he went out to see the situation in the violence-hit streets.
"Later, we heard he was caught by anti-CAA protesters. Today, we heard his body was found in a drain. He was stabbed and dumped in the drain," Ankur, his inconsolable brother, said.
"I never thought destiny will be so cruel to me. I can't live without him," his mother Sudha said.
The victim's father Ravindra Sharma, who also works with the IB, said they were worried as he did not return for hours. The family had then heard that he along with two others were picked up by anti-CAA protesters.
"When he didn't return, we started looking for him. We also went to the GTB and LNJP (Lok Nayak Jai Prakash) hospitals to check whether he was admitted, but could not find him. We kept searching for him till 3 am on Wednesday. Later around 10 am, we got to know that his body was lying in the Chand Bagh drain. We never thought that he will be killed," Devendra said.
Ankur said some women in their locality told them that they saw people throwing some body in the drain. "When the persons saw the women, they threatened them. He sustained several stab wounds before being dumped into the drain," he said.
"Such a tragic loss of life. The culprits must not be spared. 20 people have already lost their lives. So painful to watch people of Delhi suffering," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said. "Praying that we recover from this tragedy soon n work together to undo the damage done to people n communities," he tweeted.