Sitting in a corner, Sudhir's mother, Santosh Lal, is disconsolate. ``Why did this have to happen to me?'' she asks. Glancing through a pile of newspapers, Kiran Lal's brother, Lt Col Y.R. Chopra, tries to control his emotions.``This is the most horrifying episode of my life,'' he says.

A large number of residents are suddenly feeling vulnerable. Sector-17 has three entry points -- one from the Mehrauli Road and another from the HUDA nursery road. A third entry point from sector 18 remains closed from 8 p.m till morning as it us under the jurisdiction of the Air Force. The HUDA nursery road entry is closed down at 10 p.m, while the one opposite the Management Development Institute on Mehrauli Road is manned by security guards throughout the night.

But over the past six months, the MDI entrance has remained unmanned and it was only last night that two private guards were engaged. Despite their presence, several slum dwellers and labourers gained access. Ajit Singh, a security guard, says without the cooperation of the residents it is virtually impossible to keep the gates closed at night. ``People say all sorts of unkind things to us. Whenever we stop a vehicle, the occupants try to bully us. The residents of Sukhrali village too create a lot of nuisance. How are we supposed to function like this?'' he asks.

The police say suspect that the incident is the handiwork of the Bawaria gang which was involved in a series of attacks on farmhouses on the Delhi-Haryana border last year.