Pandav Kumar Murder Signals Delhi Turning Into a Tinderbox

Rising population, political distractions, and a culture of public threats are fueling fear across the national capital

By MANISH ANAND

New Delhi, April 29, 2026 — If one steps out late in the night in Delhi, she or he must stay most worried — not just an accident may lurk, but someone even can fatally shoot for trivial matters. Pandav Kumar, 21, wouldn’t have known the name of his assassin. Delhi Police Special Cell head constable shot Kumar dead for no enmity. Possibly, Kumar’s identity of being from Bihar made Neeraj press the trigger.

The outrage among the people in Bihar is reasonable. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had fallen in love with Litti-Chokha much ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections last year. Modi also had wrapped his head with a gamcha to assert his fondness for a Bihari sartorial style.

Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah is the true boss of the Delhi Police. Indeed, Delhi’s lieutenant governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu should be known as the immediate lord of the Delhi Police. But Sandhu is still celebrating his appointment as Delhi’s LG. A congratulatory post from US President Donald Trump has been his big assertion of an international stature.

Last week, an IIT Delhi girl student was allegedly raped and killed in the national capital. Another man was shot dead over a parking dispute in eastern parts of Delhi. Killing in Delhi for trivial matters seems to have become not an aberration.

The mainstream media’s obsession with amplifying neta has somehow lifted the spotlight from crime reporting dominating the space. In fact, similar cases during Manmohan Singh-led regime at the Centre had the people seething and fuming at the Jantar Mantar, which is almost out of bounds for the argumentative Indians.

An age-old rationalization of runaway crimes in Delhi remains — how can the police stop such incidents; can the police guard each person?

Delhi Police almost has over one lakh personnel in its ranks. A sizable number of them guards India’s VIP netas. The policing drill that instils a popular sense of rule of law has somehow escaped the attention of the bosses at the Delhi Police headquarters. The outfit may even score low on professionalism. Over a decade ago, many of the police personnel had failed a fitness test, as reported in The Asian Age.

As Delhi grows big in number of the people living, the administrators seem busier in acts of politics. Reels and screens shout out threats — every minute and every hour, day in and day out. Delhi now arguably breathes an intimidating air. Anonymity is now no protection. Delhi surely now seems a tinder box.

(This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author’s own.)

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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