Woman killed by youngster due to dispute over water

After two neighbors argued over accessing the shared water tap area, a 15-year-old girl in Shahdara fatally stabbed the mother.

According to the police, the 34-year-old woman sustained a gash on her stomach and a few wounds on her left hand. After being transferred to a neighboring hospital, she was pronounced dead.

“The mother of the accused girl was filling water in a tub for washing clothes on the day of the incident, but the woman also wanted to wash her utensils at that time,” an officer said. Thus, she took out the tub before it filled up.

This resulted in a battle between the two, and during the altercation, the girl was rushed to Dr. Headgewar Hospital for treatment after the deceased, named as Soni, twisted her hand.

“The child had treatment as a non-MLC patient, and her hand was X-rayed. The youngster and her mother then went back to their room where they got into another argument with Soni and her husband Satbir. The police said, “The girl stabbed Soni during this fight.” Afterwards, the police managed to capture the girl.

The first level of the property included four rooms, three of which were inhabited by three different families, and one room was reserved by the owner for his own use.

The tenants of these four rooms share a communal bathroom, a common tap, and a little area next to the tap where they wash their clothing and cutlery.

Taking note of the event, Delhi Water Minister Atishi advised Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena to suspend the Delhi Jal Board’s CEO right now and give him a 24-hour notice period on Sunday.

In addition to asking for disciplinary action against officials who failed to enhance water delivery, the Water Minister encouraged the L-G to conduct an independent investigation into the activities of the Chief Secretary (CS) and officers from Finance, Urban Development (UD), and the DJB.

According to her, the Chief Secretary’s and the officials’ activities in the Finance Department, UD, and DJB caused the DJB to run out of money in the 2023–24 fiscal year, which hampered vital projects like borewell installations.

The minister expressed her pain and reminded the L-G that the Chief Minister had provided clear instructions and a plan for enhancing Delhi’s water supply, but that nothing had been done to stop the impending water crisis despite the Water Minister’s repeated directives to the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board and the CS.

The minister said that the lady died as a result of water problems caused by the DJB officials’ incompetence. She said, “The highest-ranking DJB officers must face immediate and exemplary action for their criminal negligence.” As of April 3, the CS was instructed to make sure there was a sufficient supply of water over the summer and to obtain an activity report from the DJB. In spite of this, the CEO of the DJB declined to provide information on April 4 and offered an explanation for the Model Code of Conduct, according to Atishi’s letter.

“Senior officers of GNCTD have artificially created a standstill for DJB over the last eight to ten months due to the Finance Department’s non-release of funds,” she said.