CISF officer who shot Muslim boy dead in Delhi said by police to have mental issues

The CISF officer Madan Gopal Tiwari, who was arrested for shooting a Muslim minor boy in the head during a wedding in East Delhi, the boys running to collect money flung into the air, has been described by the police as someone suffering from mental illness while also being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.

Tiwari, who is posted in Kanpur and had travelled to Delhi on leave to attend his paternal cousin’s wedding, was detained on Sunday and later arrested after sustained interrogation, as investigators examined eyewitness accounts and the circumstances surrounding the killing.

The victim, 14-year-old Saahil, had been returning home from his shift at a neighbourhood grocery shop when he noticed the wedding procession moving towards a community centre, and he paused briefly as several boys from the locality had already joined the celebrations, prompting him to do the same.

When guests began tossing currency notes into the air, many children rushed to gather the fallen notes, and Saahil too joined in before he was abruptly grabbed by the collar and assaulted by a member of the wedding group, leading some boys to flee while he remained at the spot.

Witnesses later informed the family that the altercation escalated when the minor questioned the aggression directed at him, and the assailant, allegedly infuriated, drew his weapon and shot him in the head, causing him to collapse on the road before nearby residents hurried to his home to alert his family.

He was immediately taken to Hedgewar Hospital, yet doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Police officials stated that the accused was intoxicated during the attack and had been known to struggle with unexplained bouts of anger, and investigators indicated that he appeared to be coping with unresolved mental health issues that may have influenced his conduct.

The family, who migrated from Jharkhand in search of labour opportunities, described the economic hardships that had compelled Saahil to leave school so that he could contribute to household expenses, and they explained that he had been earning a modest wage through long working hours at the grocery shop.

The boy’s parents, including his father, who had suffered a paralytic attack a month earlier and remained unable to work consistently, depended heavily on his income, which he had taken upon himself to earn in an effort to improve the family’s living conditions.