Everywhere around the village, residents complain of migrant influx and express fear of them. "Come here after seven. You will see rehris [carts] all around selling meat. They openly drink in the streets and brazenly keep the bottles on the carts. They go around on motorcycles and create a ruckus. And if they find someone walking alone, they attack him in packs and rob him," says Shubham Singh Tyagi, a shopkeeper. "Only last month, they attacked a sardar in the street next to ours."

Residents have no trust in the police. They say the police encourage them. "Sabke paise bandhe hain [police takes money from them]," says Santosh Gupta, who knew Dhruv well, and called him “Raju”.

"We have given several written complaints about their behaviour but nothing has come out of it. At times, the cops catch them but release them after taking bribe,” he says.

Santosh says the police are well aware of all that’s happening. “Why can't they patrol streets in the night and stop these goons from standing in groups? The truth is, police exist only to make money and these goons seem to have it in abundance," he says.

In absence of police protection, the residents have adjusted their routine to avoid these "goons". They wrap up their day early, don't allow women to step out after evening, go out in groups for urgent errands and avoid certain routes.

"My work requires me to carry cash and I am always very, very careful and wary of going out after evening. I don't let my sisters step out alone," says Ahmed.

"Dar kar hi rehna padta hai [we are forced to live in fear]," says Santosh. "Raju thode dabang they [Dhruv Raj was a bit fearless]. He was one of the few men people looked up to and often went to for advice,” he adds.

After the shocking murder, the 'migrant problem' has taken an alarming and urgent tone. The residents have planned a meeting of all village representatives next week to decide on a solution themselves.

Anand Tyagi told Swarajya, "we have decided to hold a panchayat soon. We will ask for urgent police verification of all the tenants in the area. We will also appeal to people to not give rooms to Muslims — the criminal and petty types. They can live in tents."

Ved Prakash Tyagi, father of Dhruv, agrees. "It's a nice proposal," he says.