On February 17, 2026, around 5.30 pm, a 41-year-old man, Umardeen was shot dead near the Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Nand Nagri’s Block B by Sunil Sardar, a resident of the same block. A driver by profession, Umardeen supported his wife and five children in a small, rented house in the adjoining Block C in Nand Nagri. On the fatal day, Umardeen’s son was heckled by Sunil Sardar and his two brothers and when the dispute grew, and Umardeen came to help his son, Sunil went and got a revolver from his house and fatally shot Umardeen.
PUDR’s fact-finding report, Nand Nagri Mein Umardeen ki Hatya (March 2026) examines the circumstances in which Umardeen was shot at by Sunil Sardar, and how despite Rabiya’s eyewitness account, the police registered a case only against Sunil and refused to include his two brothers even though the charge used is that of murder committed by multiple individuals. Further, based on testimonies collected from the families of deceased and accused, the report analyses the socio-economic structures underlying mohalla conflicts which lead to acts of violence, and how, in this instance, the police failed to stand by the family of the deceased and only performed a formality in the registration of FIR. The report clarifies that even while such ongoing mohalla conflicts are not communal in nature, the police’s inaction and indifference displays a communal bias against the deceased’s family, a poor Muslim family.
PUDR’s investigation into the aftermath of Tarun Bhutolia’s death in Uttam Nagar on March 5, 2026, shows what happens when Muslims are accused of murdering a Hindu. Uttam Nagar mein Samvedhanik Machinery ke Sampradayikaran ki Misaal (June 2026), describes 
how a minor Holi skirmish on March 4, 2026, escalated into an incident of violence in which 26-year-old Tarun lost his life. The report details how this incident of mohalla violence was integrated within the ongoing Hindutva communal agenda of polarizing society and of influencing and misusing the state machinery through the weaponizing of caste politics. Noticeably, when a caste-based organization gave a nation-wide call demanding exemplary actions against the accused for committing murder and for perpetrating caste-based harassment on the deceased’s family, the call was strengthened by local Hindutva organizations. Simultaneously, under the aegis of the BJP councillor Sahib Asiwal, the properties of the accused were targeted as illegal construction and for violating pollution norms. The subsequent one-sided state actions against the accused responded and contributed to the growing communal polarization in the area.
The aftermath, highlighted below, exemplifies the reach and range of the communal agenda that has been muscled into an incident of mohalla conflict and the resultant death of a youth in Uttam Nagar. The details emphasize the communal nature of state actions.
- The police’s initial statement stating that the death happened on account of a dispute between neighbours changed quickly. Only one FIR was filed on behalf of the deceased’s family. The complaint filed by Babu Khan to the Dwarka DCP over the facts of the incident and his illegal detention has not been acted upon.
- The FIR named 22 persons and currently 19 are behind bars, including a juvenile and three women. It is learnt that besides murder, sections from the SC and ST Act have been invoked.
- Within a week of the incident, the Delhi Chief Minister’s office invited the deceased’s family, and the CM personally promised ‘justice’ to the family.
- The MCD demolished two houses belonging to two accused on grounds of encroachment, and the NGT notified some more houses of the accused on grounds of pollution. These actions happened after the families of the accused fled their homes.
- Women and children of the families of the accused remained homeless for over 45 days. Their return has been resisted by provocative actions of a communal crowd. Despite complaints, the police has refused to protect them.
- The High Court has ordered safety and protection of the deceased’s family. Thus, there is increased patrolling for the safety of the deceased’s family, not for preventing harassment of Muslim women and children.
The aftermath shows how through the misuse of constitutional institutions a ‘majoritarian consensus’ has been manufactured with the aim of intensifying communal polarization in society. In particular, the strategies of harassment–largescale arrests, denial of bail, bulldozing of properties, sealing of homes, and refusal of protection from communal crowds—are aimed at creating conditions of fear of eviction among Muslims in the neighbourhood. The report underlines that such communal polarization created through misuse of state institutions undermine the democratic principle of equal rights for all citizens.
Deepika Tandon, Shahana Bhattacharya
(Secretaries, PUDR)
pudr@pudr.org)
