“Nobody fired a bullet here. He (constable Saurabh Deshwal) died of a police bullet and now the police is harassing us. Do you think we are miscreants?” These are the words of the Muslims of the village, where SOG constable Saurabh Deshwal, who had gone to arrest history-sheeter Qadir, was surrounded and killed by goons.
The SOG constable was killed on 25th May 2025 in Ghaziabad’s Nahal village. OpIndia reached Nahal village on 28th May after the incident. Here we met some of Qadir’s neighbours and talked to them. All the houses within a distance of about 300 metres from Qadir’s four-storey mansion are locked.
In Ghaziabad, locals from the Muslim community are spreading rumours over Constable Saurabh Deshwal's murder. When @Keshavmalan93 questioned them, some turned aggressive and even got physical. pic.twitter.com/Li9sHgQWs7
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) June 1, 2025
The people living here have gone to their relatives’ or acquaintances’ places. Although some of Qadir’s neighbours spoke to us on camera about helping the police administration in its action, however, the reality is that there is silence in the entire market.
We met the Imam of the mosque located about 200 meters before Qadir’s house. Imam Mohammad Fakruddin said that he was unaware of the incident, “I am from outside and have been leading prayers in the mosque for about one and a half years, but since the incident people are not coming to the mosque.” The Imam said that whatever has happened is wrong.
90% of the population of Nahal village is Muslim
OpIndia then reached outside the four-storey bungalow of history-sheeter Qadir. We saw that a huge police force was deployed there. Some policemen were resting while some were patrolling. Some were sitting on chairs in front of the bungalow.
Meanwhile, an old man Fateh Mohammad, who was found in front of the mansion, said that he used to set up a chole bhature shop in the market, but since this incident happened, the shop is closed. When asked about Qadir, he said that he does not know Qadir but he does not consider anyone guilty in this incident.
Fateh Mohammad said that now the police is harassing them. He claimed that the police is picking up innocent people from their homes. Fateh Mohammad said that the village has 90% Muslim and 10% non-Muslim population. Here our team found a Muslim youth wearing a cap. He was sitting on a bike.
He too repeated Fateh Mohammad’s claim. He refused to recognise Qadir. OpIndia met an old man named Irfan here. He told that Qadir is his nephew and he had threatened to kill him seven days ago.
OpIndia reporter’s question enraged Qadir’s neighbour
OpIndia also reached out to Qadir’s neighbour, a shopkeeper. On one hand, he denied knowing anything about the incident; on the other, he blamed the police. The shopkeeper claimed that Saurabh Deshwal died of a police bullet. He said, “Saurabh died of a police bullet. Were we sitting with bullets in our hands at night?”
The Muslim shopkeeper also misbehaved with OpIndia team. The shopkeeper got agitated with the questions and pushed us and tried to get violent. After this, we tried to talk to 15-20 people but most of them claimed to be unaware of the incident and refrained from saying anything against the accused Qadir.
Silence prevails in Saurabh Deshwal’s village, Saurabh Deshwal’s family in shock and disbelief
After leaving Nahal, Ghaziabad, the OpIndia team reached Badhev village in Shamli. This is Saurabh Deshwal’s village. There is silence all around in the village. In the afternoon, the deserted streets of the village seemed to be mourning Saurabh’s sacrifice.
The local villagers are in shock over the brutal murder of Constable Deshwal. Here we reached Saurabh Deshwal’s house located in the middle of the village. About 10-15 people were sitting inconsolably in the verandah of the incomplete 3-storey house. Among them was father Uttam Kumar, wearing an old kurta.
The shock and trauma of losing his son has dried up Uttam Kumar’s tears. Looking at his father immersed in deep grief, it seems that he cannot believe that his son is no more in this world. When asked, he says that he was very brave. He expects justice from the Yogi government.
Anger was clearly visible in the eyes of Saurabh’s cousin sitting on the cot next to him. He says that Saurabh was very friendly and brave. Saurabh Deshwal’s family members said that he used to spend his time serving cows. Another relative sitting here wants Qadir to meet the same fate as Vikas Dubey and Atiq Ahmed.
Meanwhile, Saurabh’s mother and wife were crying inconsolably inside the house. His wife was distraught. We were told that Saurabh Deshwal got married in 2020. His wife and mother did not have the strength to talk. Considering their emotional state, OpIndia did not speak to them.
While returning from Saurabh’s house, a woman said that all the accused should be killed in an encounter and a bulldozer should be run on Qadir’s house. You can see this ground report of OpIndia on the YouTube link given above.
It is worth noting that in this case, the police have arrested many criminals including Qadir and his brother Adil. An announcement has been made to give ₹50 lakh as compensation to Saurabh Deshwal’s family. However, his family says that they want their son back.
