Eid 2026: Why is Delhi's Uttam Nagar under heavy security and what happened to 26-year-old Tarun Butolia during Holi on March 4?

As Eid is being celebrated in Delhi, security has been tightened near the Uttam Nagar East Metro station in the national capital after the Delhi High Court directed the Delhi Police to make adequate arrangements in the area over apprehensions of violence during Eid-ul-Fitr. The court directed that the security arrangements be maintained till Ram Navami.

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Delhi Uttam Nagar news

Security has been increased in Delhi's Uttam Nagar days after a 26-year-old man, identified as Tarun Butolia, was killed during a clash between neighbours in West Delhi. The 26-year-old young man was killed after a dispute between neighbours from different communities during Holi celebrations on 4 March escalated into violence, according to police.


According to Tarun's mother, the dispute began over a water balloon thrown by a child, reports Times of India. "Because of just a drop of water, my son has been killed... The beginning of everything was that my 7-year-old niece was standing on the second floor, and I was standing just below my house. She was playing. A 7-year-old girl doesn't know what colour is. From her hand, the balloon fell down. A few drops of water fell on that lady named Saira. Upon this, Saira started threatening her, saying that I will get you raped by my family members. I asked her, how can you say this about a girl?" she alleged.

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She said the situation escalated quickly after the woman allegedly called several people to the spot. "In such a short time, she called 20-25 people. Some of them are women, and some of them are men... Tarun didn't know anything. It happened at night. She called her men," she said.

The mother also alleged she was assaulted during the incident. "A lady named Salima hit me with a rod on the face. Some men tore my blouse. They hit my brother-in-law, husband, son, and my brother-in-law's son. They said they will finish Khatiks today," she alleged.

"We didn't have a fight with them (attackers' family)... but sometimes, they threw water and acid at the street dogs. Sometimes they used to hit them with sticks and stones. Our kids used to scold them for hitting dogs. Slowly, we started feeling that they had made Tarun their target because of this. A balloon fell from the girl. She is our family's daughter. The balloon fell near her (the lady from the attackers' family) feet. It didn't fall on her. Still, she started screaming. Many people came to her," Tarun's father said. He also alleged that the attackers vandalised their house before police arrived.

Security in Delhi Uttam Nagar

West Delhi's Uttam Nagar area is still tense after the March 4 killing. Police said more than 100 pickets have been set up, with personnel deployed on rooftops and at key junctions to maintain a close watch on movement in sensitive pockets. According to police, additional forces have been stationed in Hastsal village, where the killing took place, and nearby areas, with joint deployment of Delhi Police and central armed forces at strategic locations.

Monitoring of social media has also been intensified to track and curb the spread of inflammatory content, police said, adding that several objectionable posts have already been flagged and acted upon.

(With PTI and TOI inputs)