NEW DELHI: “All my husband wanted was for them to lower the volume of the music so that our kids could sleep. For this simple request, he was strangled and beaten to death,” said Poonam, wife of the 40-year-old man who was murdered over a request to turn down the music.
A New Year’s celebration turned tragic in Rohini when 40-year-old Dharmender was murdered, leaving behind a devastated family and a shaken neighbourhood.
The incident occurred around midnight on Jan 1 when Dharmender went to speak with his neighbours about the thunderous music that was causing windows and doors to rattle, making it impossible for his children to sleep. Within minutes, what could have been a routine neighbourly conversation turned deadly.
“I asked him to go because the music was unbearably loud, and my children couldn’t sleep,” Poonam recalled, tears streaming down her face.
“Within minutes, I heard his screams piercing through the loud music. When I rushed down, I saw multiple men overpowering both him and my brother-in-law. They were brutally strangling him. I begged them to let go, tried to pull them away, but they pushed me, and I fell down. The next moment, when they finally released him, he stopped moving. We all tried CPR, neighbours included. His last words were my name as he struggled to breathe.”
The tragedy has left three children fatherless, including a one-year-old son, an eight-year-old son, and a four-year-old daughter who was soon to start school. “The New Year’s Eve cake is still untouched in our fridge,” Poonam said.
The incident has sparked serious concerns about safety and noise pollution in the densely populated neighbourhood. A local grocery store owner, who sold Dharmender his New Year’s supplies just hours before the incident, expressed her shock, “In 20 years of running this shop, I’ve seen countless fights, but never did I imagine someone would die over a volume button.”
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) stipulates noise levels in residential areas should not exceed 55dB(A) between 6am and 10pm, and 45dB(A) from 10pm to 6am, but these rules are often flouted. The tragedy has led to calls for increased police patrols and stricter enforcement of noise regulations.
Shipra Mehta, a 40-year-old neighbour, said, “Initially when we shifted here, such things weren’t common. Now, people know even if police are called, nobody will come, so they continue to play loud music.”
“Is it our fault we cannot afford houses in posh places? It’s a basic thing- playing music on loudspeakers will obviously make anybody’s life miserable. I get that posh localities have proper rules, police on time and more, but does that mean we don’t deserve safety and peaceful sleep?” she asked.
A senior police officer emphasised the importance of proper procedures. “In such situations, it is crucial for residents to make a call and approach police so that they can deal with things. Residents shouldn’t decide to take matters into their own hands.”
The victim’s brother, Dinesh, who was also attacked that night, stated, “We used to call him Vicky lovingly. The two who have been arrested-we’ve seen them grow up in this locality since they were kids playing in the streets. Who would have thought we’d need to call the cops on them?” He added, “The family is stranded now. The children still think their father will come back home someday. What answers am I supposed to give them?”
Dharmender recently secured a job as a sales representative after months of unemployment and was the breadwinner for his family.
