Today, a post-mortem report is expected to reveal how Nido Taniam, a young college student, died. Last week, the 20-year-old was beaten up by a group of men in a South Delhi market after they allegedly taunted him with racist slurs. The next morning, Nido was found dead in his bed.
His father's older brother, Nido Jose Apil, shares the family's version of what happened.
Nido loved music and movies. And Mughlai food. He was in Delhi for a holiday; he was enrolled for a business degree at a private college in Jalandhar.
Nido and his friends were in South Delhi's Lajpat Nagar market last Wednesday, looking for an address. They split into two groups. Nido and one of his friends stopped at a shop to ask for directions. The shopkeeper instead of helping said - "You are a
chinki, what are you wearing? You look like a monkey with that hairstyle". And they laughed.
Nido then said "I don't have time. My friend is very ill and we have to go see him, so please help us and don't make fun of us". But they wouldn't stop making fun of him. So out of anger, Nido banged on the glass door and it broke. 3-4 people came rushing out of the shop and started beating Nido. His friend Lulu was slapped once.
The shopkeeper asked for money for the broken glass door and they offered Rs 6,000. He said that wasn't enough so Nido gave another 5,000. After they had paid 11,000, the shopkeeper phoned the police. The cops came and took Nido and Lulu to the Lajpat Nagar police station. Lulu was asked to go home. Nido was then again taken to Lajpat Nagar by two policemen on a motorcycle (to verify what had happened).
He was beaten again while the cops were present. Nido called his friends and said that he was in Lajpat again and was 'being beaten like a dog.' He said that they were beating him with sticks and that they had punched him 20-30 times in the head and chest.
(Note: Nido's uncle rejects reports and the police's claim that he was not taken back to Lajpat Nagar) Nido and the shopkeeper were again taken to the police station. The cops called Nido's mother (who was in Arunachal Pradesh) and asked her if they should lodge an FIR. The mother said that since everything had been settled, they should not. She did not know that Nido had been beaten so severely. She thought it was a minor scuffle. The police then called Nido's guardian to hand Nido over to him. He came to the police station. But Nido wanted to leave with his friends (who were waiting outside)
He went with his friends to Safdarjung to see a doctor; he got a tetanus shot and some bandages for his hand.The friends then dropped Nido and Lulu at Nido's sister's house in Green Park.
Nido and Lulu then went to Nido's room and were up till about 5 am discussing all that had happened. At about 6 am they fell asleep. Lulu woke up around 2-3 pm and tried to wake up Nido. He was not moving. The sister was at college. Lulu called his friends and they took him to AIIMS where doctors said he was no more...he had died 2 hours ago.
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