New Delhi, 22 October (H.S.): The Dwarka Court in Delhi has extended the judicial custody of all the accused in the Uttam Nagar murder case, which arose from an incident during Holi celebrations, until November 19. The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge Sushant Changotra.

During the hearing on Thursday, all the accused appeared before the court through video conferencing. Lawyers representing 13 accused presented their arguments on the framing of charges. The court granted the remaining accused a final opportunity to present their arguments on the issue and scheduled the next hearing for November 19.

On May 22, the court took cognisance of the charge sheet filed against 17 accused. Those named in the charge sheet are Umaruddin, Kamaruddin, Jummuddin, Mushtaq, Tahir, Muzaffar alias Mauji, Salma, Sharifan, Saira Bano alias Kali, Sahil, Sameer Chauhan, Shakeel, Mohammad Ismail, Imamuddin alias Lala Khan, Amin, Imran and Rehan.

The court had earlier ordered the release of Imran alias Bunty after finding that he had been arrested mistakenly and that there was no evidence against him. The court expressed displeasure with the investigating officer for failing to take corrective action until the filing of the charge sheet, despite Imran alias Bunty having been wrongly detained.

The Delhi Police filed the charge sheet on May 6, 2026, naming 17 people as accused. The approximately 500-page document includes charges relating to murder, membership of an unlawful assembly, rioting, criminal trespass and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The incident occurred on March 4, 2026, during Holi celebrations, when 26-year-old Tarun Bhutolia was allegedly attacked and later died from his injuries.

According to the Delhi Police, a minor girl from Tarun Bhutolia’s family threw a water-filled balloon at a woman on March 4. The situation subsequently escalated, and the woman’s relatives allegedly attacked Tarun with sticks, leaving him injured. He died the following day.

The police have stated that there was no prior enmity between the two families. Investigators have recorded statements from approximately 50 people in connection with the case.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar