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Delhi. A young Hindu woman, Komal, was brutally murdered and her body dumped in a canal after being tied to a rock in north-east Delhi, an area that witnessed communal violence during the anti-CAA riots of 2020. The crime, committed by Mohammad Asif and his accomplice Zubair, has once again raised concerns over targeted violence against Hindu women resisting forced conversions.
The 22-year-old Komal, a resident of Sundar Nagri in Seemapuri, was last seen on March 12 before she mysteriously vanished. Her family, desperate for answers, searched relentlessly, only to be met with bureaucratic hurdles and delays in police action.
Finally, on March 17, their worst fears were confirmed when her body was retrieved from the Chhawla canal, her hands and legs tied, weighed down with a rock, a gruesome attempt to hide the crime.
According to Delhi Police, Komal was raped, strangled, and disposed of by Mohammad Asif, a cab driver she had known for four years. Investigations revealed that Asif had been pressuring Komal to convert and marry him, but she had distanced herself from him, unwilling to give in. When she rejected his demands, he, along with his associate Zubair, allegedly raped and killed her before dumping her body in a drain.
Police reports confirm that Komal had briefly been in a relationship with Asif but had ended it after learning about his intentions. Despite her repeated refusals, Asif continued to pursue her, growing increasingly obsessed and possessive. When he found out that Komal had been talking to another man from the neighbourhood, he snapped.
Later, Asif strangled Komal inside his taxi. In a desperate bid to erase evidence, he and Zubair tied her body with ropes, weighed it down with a stone, and threw it into the Najafgarh drain.
Komal’s family faced numerous hurdles while trying to file a missing person complaint. The long, frustrating search began on March 12, when she failed to return home from work at a call center in Angad Nagar. Her phone had gone silent, and her family, sensing something was wrong, rushed to the Nand Nagri police station, only to be told to approach another station.
Meanwhile, police indifference added to the family’s agony. “When we approached them again on March 14, we were told to return after Holi,” Komal’s grandmother, Bimla, recounted tearfully.
A crucial breakthrough came when another girl from Komal’s workplace revealed that on March 12, she and Komal had boarded a white car that picked them up after work. The car dropped her off at Dilshad Garden, but Komal remained inside and was driven elsewhere. This clue led police to scan CCTV footage, tracing the vehicle’s movements.
On March 17, a PCR call alerted Chhawla police station about a body floating in the Najafgarh drain. Forensic teams confirmed signs of strangulation and external injuries, pointing to a clear case of murder and sexual assault.
With growing public pressure, police intensified their probe, finally arresting Asif and Zubair on March 19.
Shockingly, this heinous crime took place just meters away from another high-profile murder, the brutal stabbing of Naina Kaur, who was killed by Shahrukh just two days before her wedding to a Sikh man. The pattern of such targeted attacks has fuelled public outrage and demands for stricter laws against forced conversions and religiously motivated crimes.
DCP Ankit Singh, leading the investigation, revealed that Asif, murdered Komal inside his taxi before dumping her body in the drain. During interrogation, Asif admitted to suspecting Komal of seeing another man and refusing his repeated conversion and marriage proposals.
Police also questioned the other man Komal was allegedly in touch with, though initial reports suggest there was no wrongdoing on his part.
Komal was a Civil Defence volunteer in Shahdara district and also worked at a call center. She lived with her grandparents in Nigam Flats, Sunder Nagri, while her parents ran a small boutique in Chandigarh. Described as independent, hardworking, and ambitious, she had been supporting her family and aspired for a brighter future.
Komal’s family has demanded the death penalty for the accused, stating that justice delayed is justice denied.
Komal’s brutal murder is not an isolated case but a grim reminder of the rising threats faced by Hindu women who resist religious coercion. As her grieving family awaits justice, her tragic fate raises urgent questions about law enforcement, women’s safety, and the increasing vulnerability of Hindu girls in interfaith relationships.
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