Shocked kin say Rajat Menon didn’t have bad habits

The relatives of Rajat Menon, a Class 9 student who was beaten to death in East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar on Wednesday evening, remain in shock at his native village in Kottayi, near here.

Rajat had spent his summer vacation with his grandfather Narayanan Nair, grandmother Premalatha and other relatives at Sasthapuram in Kottayi and left for Delhi 10 days ago. They were informed about his death at 6 am on Thursday.

“Rajat was a loveable child who mingled with everyone. He was also good in his studies. He never had any bad habits,” K.R. Satheesh, a close relative of the deceased, told this newspaper.

After the incident on Wednesday night, Rajat’s father M. Unnikrishnan and his friends were at the police station concerned till 3 am, demanding the arrest of the culprits, but the police failed to act. The police told the family that an FIR could be registered only after post-mortem.

Mr Unnikirishnan, who works as general manager at the zonal office of Reliance Industries at Noida, has been staying with his family in Delhi for more than 25 years.

The victim’s father works for Reliance Communications as general manager. The family hails from Kerala. Rajat’s mother Krishnakumari is a native of Chitoor and he has an elder brother, Rajeev Menon, studying in Class 11.

Mr Unnikrishnan’s brothers M. Jayapal and Lakshmikanth are also staying in Mayur Vihar. Mr Jayapal is a scientist with the ministry of science and technology.