At 2:30 AM on Sunday, April 27, a group of young men were wrapping up a small birthday gathering in Jaffarpur Kalan village on the outskirts of west Delhi. Some left by car. Others — including 21-year-old Pandav Kumar, a Zomato delivery worker — were on a scooter and a motorcycle.
As they were leaving, a man came down from a rooftop and started questioning them aggressively about their presence there. They explained it was a friend's birthday and they were heading home.
According to eyewitness Rupesh Kumar, the man allegedly began abusing them. Accused them and said: "You are Bihari, leave from here." The abuse became casteist and regional. The accused reportedly mentioned Pandav's mother and sister in the abuses.
Then the man pulled out a pistol and fired.
The bullet hit Pandav Kumar in the chest at near point-blank range, passed through his body, and also struck his friend Krishna in the abdomen. Pandav Kumar was 21 years old. He was a food delivery worker. He died from his injuries.
Krishna is undergoing treatment in hospital in a serious condition.
The shooter fled the scene immediately after firing.
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Who Is the Accused?
The shooter has been identified as Neeraj Balhara, a Head Constable with the Delhi Police Special Cell. He is originally from Bahu Akbarpur village in Meham, Rohtak, Haryana. He was using his service-issued Glock pistol at the time of the shooting.
Neeraj was on the run through most of Sunday. Late Sunday evening, he was nabbed near Rohtak, Haryana. A case has been registered against him.
That it took a full day to apprehend an identifiable, named police officer — one whose address and background were known — has not gone unnoticed by those demanding accountability.
What the Family Is Saying
Pandav Kumar's mother, Meena Devi, was waiting at home when the call came.. "The moment he got to know that we are from Bihar, he opened fire and fled," she said. She demanded to know why it was acceptable to shoot someone simply for being from Bihar. "We never imagined something like this could happen. Our children go out at night to work, how will they go now if they can be shot like this?"
She added that the family had still not been allowed to see Pandav's body, and would have to wait for the post-mortem. She said police claimed to have CCTV footage but were not sharing it.
The family also alleged that Neeraj appeared to be drunk at the time of the shooting.
Pandav was one of Meena Devi's two sons.
The Casteist and Regional Dimension
This shooting is not being reported simply as a "cop kills civilian" story. The regional and identity-based dimension is explicit. The accused allegedly targeted this group specifically because they were from Bihar, and said so out loud.
Bihar, despite being a major source of migrant labour across India, has long faced discrimination in some parts of the country. Bihari migrants — who work across Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, and elsewhere — periodically report being targets of regional hostility. In most cases this stays verbal. In this case, it turned fatal.
Eyewitness Rupesh Kumar stated: "He was angry only because they were from Bihar. He also remarked that people from Bihar are building houses and earning money." That framing — resentment at economic mobility of migrants — is a specific, recognisable form of prejudice that activists and civil society groups have documented in Indian cities for years.
The fact that the shooter was a serving Delhi Police officer, using a service weapon, after making a casteist slur — places this incident firmly in the intersection of identity-based discrimination and institutional accountability.
Police Response
An FIR has been registered against Neeraj Balhara. Delhi Police confirmed that he is posted with the Special Cell — the force's elite crime-fighting unit. The use of a service-issued firearm in an off-duty altercation is a serious violation of police conduct rules.
The standard departmental process would now involve a parallel inquiry into how Neeraj came to fire his service weapon in what appears to be a personal confrontation. The Delhi Police Commissioner's office has not yet issued a statement as of Sunday evening.
Neeraj's arrest near Rohtak is confirmed. The investigation is underway.
Demands and Reactions
Pandav's family and local residents gathered at the Jaffarpur Kalan police station demanding immediate arrest (which has since happened) and a guarantee of strict legal action. The family wants to ensure that departmental proximity does not translate into legal lenience.
The phrase "people from Bihar are building houses and earning money" — attributed to the accused — has been widely shared on social media and is fuelling a broader conversation about migrant discrimination and the use of police power against socially marginalised communities.
Delivery workers' rights groups have also taken note. Pandav Kumar was a Zomato delivery worker — part of the vast, mostly informal gig economy workforce that operates through the night, often in areas they do not know well, on low pay and zero institutional protection.
What This Case Represents
India has seen a number of high-profile custodial deaths and police violence cases in recent years. But this one has specific characteristics that make it harder to classify as an aberration:
- It was off-duty, not a custodial situation
- The victim was unarmed and had done nothing illegal
- The motive was apparently regional identity
- The weapon used was a government-issued firearm
- The accused is from an elite police unit
For communities of migrant workers across Delhi — who work some of the most demanding jobs in the most difficult hours — this is not an abstract policy question. It is a visceral reminder that wearing a uniform does not always mean protection.
Pandav Kumar's family is still waiting to see his body. The post-mortem is scheduled. The accused is in custody. The case is registered. And the question of what justice looks like here — for a 21-year-old food delivery worker from Bihar — is now in the hands of India's criminal justice system.