THE OUTCOME OF ANGER

In Delhi’s Karol Bagh area, on Ajmal Khan Road, there were two shoe shops side by side. One was owned by Surinder Kumar (35), and the other by Balraj Arora (45). A week earlier, a man had bought a pair of shoes from Surinder Kumar’s shop for 180 rupees. As he stepped outside, the other shopkeeper, Balraj Arora, called him over, looked at the shoes, and asked how much he had paid. The customer said 180 rupees. Arora then showed the same type of shoe from his own shop and said: “Look, this is the same shoe, and I can give it to you for only 135 rupees” (The Pioneer, 14 October 1992).

The customer became angry. He went back to Surinder Kumar and demanded a refund of 45 rupees. Surinder Kumar got upset, went to the neighbouring shop, and scolded Arora. Some bystanders intervened and sent both men back to their shops. But the anger remained. A week later, on 13 October 1992, Surinder Kumar argued again with Arora. Finally, he pulled out a revolver (32 bore Smith & Wesson) and fired six bullets at him. Arora was rushed to Lohia Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Now the case is in court. Either the killer will be hanged like his victim, or he will spend huge sums of money to twist the case in his favour and get acquitted. In one case, it is physical death; in the other, financial ruin.

If the killer had not been blinded by anger and revenge, he could easily have seen that the better choice was to return 45 rupees to the customer and settle the matter with his competitor in a professional way.