Seelampur teen murder: 'Lady Don' held as cops probe gang rivalry angle

NEW DELHI: A 17-year-old boy named Kunal was fatally stabbed in north-east Delhi’s New Seelampur on Thursday evening, triggering tensions in the area. According to police, a local woman named Zikra, allegedly known as the 'lady don', has been detained and is being investigated in connection with the murder.
Kunal’s family has alleged that Zikra, who once worked as a bouncer for jailed gangster Hashim Baba's wife Zoya, was present at the scene when he was killed.
“Zikra used to roam around in the area with a pistol. An incident happened with her cousin Sahil but my son was not involved in it. Yet they killed him. They brutally stabbed him multiple times,” Kunal’s mother Parveen told news agency PTI.
Zikra was reportedly living with Zoya before the latter’s arrest by Delhi Police in a drug-related case. After Zoya was jailed, Zikra was said to be forming her own gang.
She was previously arrested under the Arms Act after she posted a video on social media brandishing a pistol. She is currently out on bail and had been living in a rented house close to Kunal’s residence.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Pushpendra Kumar said, “We have identified the accused who will be nabbed soon. Ten teams have been formed to crack the case, and they are looking at all possible angles. We have detained a few people for questioning. The case will be solved soon.”
CCTV footage led the police to identify two suspects, Sahil and Rehan, in connection with the stabbing. According to sources, Zikra has been detained for questioning, although no formal arrest has been made yet.
The motive behind the murder appears to be an act of revenge. Sources revealed that Kunal may have been involved in an earlier attack on Zikra’s cousin Sahil. Police had registered an attempt to murder case against some members of Kunal’s community over that previous incident.
“It is suspected that Kunal was also involved in the stabbing of Sahil. Although Sahil did not die, he, along with Zikra, hatched a plan to take revenge for the attack,” said a family source.
Zikra reportedly was leading a gang of 10-12 youths, several of whom are now under scrutiny in connection with Kunal’s killing. Fear has reportedly gripped the locality, with some residents allegedly fleeing the area to escape possible retaliation.
Amid growing unrest, local police and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed to maintain order. Protests have been staged by local people and members of Hindu outfits, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). Posters bearing slogans like "Hindus are migrating" and "Please help, Yoji ji" appeared in the area but were later removed by the police.
The incident has further escalated tensions between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with both blaming each other for the breakdown of law and order in the national capital.