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Shahdara stabbing: accused was shaken by fatherтАЩs death, say kin

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A day after a 28-year-old man stabbed and injured five policemen and a home guard at ShahdaraтАЩs cyber police station, his relatives on Thursday said they are still in shock over the incident and have no clue as to why and how he went about perpetrating such an act.

Bharat Bhati, a second-year BBA dropout, went on the stabbing spree on Wednesday afternoon and was eventually arrested. His family learnt about the incident around 2.30 p.m. when a police team reached them inquiring about the accused. тАЬNot just me, nobody in the house was aware of what had happened at the police station,тАЭ said Daksh Bhati, 18, a cousin of the accused.

тАШHe kept to himselfтАЩ

Bharat stayed with his grandparents and uncleтАЩs family at Balbir Nagar in Shahdara. Talking about his cousin, Daksh said he was detached from the family and mostly kept to himself. тАЬHe would not eat for days together; would stay aloof most times,тАЭ he said.

No one in the family knew where Bharat was on Wednesday afternoon. тАЬThe police told us that Bharat went to the police station with a complaint regarding our Internet provider, but we donтАЩt have Wi-Fi,тАЭ said Daksh. тАЬWe were informed that Bharat started recording a video at the station and when the police tried to intervene, he pulled out a knife and stabbed a few policemen.тАЭ

The family members said they had no idea how Bharat accessed the knife and when did he leave the house. тАЬWe didnтАЩt see any knife in BharatтАЩs possession,тАЭ Daksh said.

тАШUnder treatmentтАЩ

Bharat was receiving treatment for depression, said the cousin, adding that he used to run away from clinic, declaring himself тАЬfit and fineтАЭ.

Daksh said Bharat had been тАЬdisturbedтАЭ since four-five years, but the death of his father, Ashok Bhati, a month ago shook him. Ashok died in Uttar Pradesh after slipping from the railway station platform. BharatтАЩs mother, Geeta, died of cancer 20 years ago. His has an elder sister who is married and his younger brother stays with him at their grandparentsтАЩ house. The family belongs to Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh.

The familyтАЩs domestic help, Neetu, who has been working there since nine months, agreed that AshokтАЩs death impacted BharatтАЩs behaviour.

According to DCP (Shahdara) R. Sathiyasundaram, Bharat came to the police station around 12.45 p.m., He initially spoke to the staff there and then went to the third floor and started recording a video. When he was stopped by the policemen and asked for the reason for recording the video, Bharat suddenly pulled out a knife and stabbed several policemen one after another.

After his arrest, Bharat said he was a complainant, but no complaint copy was found on him. The police said he also banged his head against a wall and injured himself. An FIR under Section 307 (attempt to murder) has been registered against the accused, said the police. All the injured policemen are out of danger, said officers.

One of the constables, Manish, who sustained minor injuries, said, he was going to the gallery when the commotion started. тАЬI turned back to see what was happening and thatтАЩs when Bharat stabbed his hand with the knife,тАЭ he said.

Head constables Deepak and Amit, home guard Ravi, and constable Manish were injured on the third floor, while two other policemen тАФ Sunil and Naresh тАФ sustained minor injuries on the ground floor, said officers. All of them are out danger, they added.

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