As many as 53 persons were killed in February 2020 communal riots in Northeast Delhi that attracted international headlines. Here goes the latest updates about some of these cases.
By Syed Khalique Ahmed
Arshad Raza
A resident of Karawal Nagar, 22-year-old Arshad was attacked and killed near Karawal Nagar toll naka when he was returning from work on February 26. However, his body was found at GTB hospital on March 2. His family received Rs. 10 lakh compensation. There are six sisters, three brothers and old aged parents in Arshad’s family. His father is having vision problem due to diabetes and can’t work. The family has now shifted to Loni for safety reasons.
Mohammed Mursaleen
Twenty-six-year old Mursaleen, a scrap dealer and a resident of Indira Vihar, went missing on February 25. After he did not return home, the family looked for him in different police stations of the area as also three morgues. But his body was found in a canal. His family alleges that he was beaten to death and then thrown into the canal. His family received a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh from Delhi state government.
Bhure Ali
A labourer, Bhure Ali’s body was recovered from a canal. His family says he was beaten to death on February 27-28 when he had gone out for some work. His body was found in RML Hospital mortuary. He is survived by his parents, two children and a brother Rafiq. His wife died six years ago. His family received Rs. 10 lakh compensation. His family lives in Lone, adjoining Shiv Vihar. His brother Rafiq says he was not aware of what happened to the case about murder of Bhure Ali. He says his family is very poor and can’t pursue the case in the court. Rafiq says his parents are very old and can’t work and he alone is the earning member to look after the entire family. Police had arrested nine persons in connection with Bhure’s murder.
Aas Mohammed
Thirty-two-year old labourer and a resident of Dayalpur, had gone for work on February 28 when the riots had subsided. He was caught by a mob and stabbed to death. But his body was found on March 9. He is survived by his wife Saheba and three minor children aged 5, 8, and 10. The family got a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh.
Rahul Solanki
Twenty six year old Rahul Solanki, who was a student, had gone to buy milk when he was shot near Rajdhani School. His family received Rs. 10 lakh compensation. Eight persons have been arrested in this case. His family that lived in Babu Nagar during riots have now shifted to Karawal Nagar.
Jamaluddin
Jamaluddin(35), who owned a bakery, was attacked by a mob on February 27. He succumbed to his injuries on March 3. No arrest has, however, been made so far in the case. His family got Rs. 10 lakh compensation. He is survived by his widow and four children. The family has now shifted to Loni from Northeast Delhi.
Prem Singh
A resident of Brijpuri, 25-year-old Prem Singh used to eke out his living by driving a cycle rishaw. He was stabbed to death on February 25. Singh is survived by his wife and four children, one of them born after his murder. His family received Rs. 10 lakh compensation from the Delhi government another amount of Rs. 6 lakh from philanthropists.
Zakir
A welder by profession Zakir (27) had gone to pray in a mosque in Old Mustafabad when the rioters attacked the mosque. Zakir was badly injured and he later on succumbed to injuries. Zakir’s mother Meena says that Zakir’s wife left the family with Rs. 10 lakh compensation from the government and another Rs. Two lakh from other sources and has now remarried.
Mohammed Mudassir
Working as a scrap worker, 35-year-old Mudassir had gone to Crescent School on February 25 to pay fee of one of his children. However, the riots broke out soon after and he took shelter in the house of a friend. But he was shot when he came out of the friend’s house the next day. He is survived by his wife and eight daughters. His wife Imrana runs a cosmetics shop on the ground floor of the family’s four storeyed house to eke out a living for her eight children. Imrana is also helped by some NGOs. The family got a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh.
Shaban
A welder, Shaban had received bullet injuries in his leg when he went to pick up a welding machine in Chandbagh on February 24. He died of the injuries the very next day. The family says it received Rs. 10 lakh in compensation part of which was used to pay the debt of Shaban.
Musharraf
A resident of Bhagwati Vihar, 30-year-old Musharraf was pulled out of his house and beaten to death in presence of his wife and three children. His wife escaped after putting a ‘bindi’ on her forehead pretending to be a Hindu. His house was looted and then badly damaged. Musharraf’s wife mallika received Rs. 10 lakh compensation part of which she used for marrying her eldest daughter. But she still has two younger children aged 13 and four to look after. Nine persons have been arrested in his case.
Furqan
A handicraft worker, Furqan was killed on February 24 whe he had gone to buy milk and butter for his children. However, his family was informed after four days. He is survived by wife Firdaus and two children, besides brothers and parents. The family got Rs. 10 lakh compensation but she says the money was kept by her in-laws. However, she is paid Rs. 10,000 per month by her in-laws to run her family. His family lives in Kardampuri.
Ankit Sharma
This 26-year-old Intelligence Bureau Officer was killed on February 26 and his body thrown in a canal in Khajuri Khas. His family has now shifted from Khajuri Khas to Ghaziabad. He was unmarried.
His family got a compensation of Rs. One crore from Delhi government. However, no one from the family has so far been given government job as promised by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. As many as 10 people have been arrested in his case.
Hashim and Amir Khan
Both real brothers and working as labourers were cornered by a mob in Johripur on February 26 that asked them their religion. They were stabbed to death when they said they were Muslims. Their bodies were dumped in a canal. Police found in investigations that the accused were from a whatsapp group. A total of 20 persons have been arrested in this case. Their family got a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh only. Before being killed, they had called their family that they were reaching house within five minutes. Amir’s three daughters are being looked after by his father Babu Khan. They have now shifted to Bulandshahar.
Akbari Begum(85)
She was the lone woman who was killed in the riots. She was burned to death when her house was set ablaze by rioters. While others members of her family escaped to safety after the mob attacked her house, she could not move out due to her old age. She is survived by his son Mohammed Saeed Salmani, his wife and three children. Salmani ran a garment factory from his four storeyed house. However, he has not been able to restart his business. The family got a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh. The family currently lives in a rented house.
Police Head Constable Rattan Lal
Rattan Lal (42) was killed during a clash between a mob and police on February 24. The family got a compensation of Rs. 1 crore from the Delhi government. While Rs. 60 was paid to his wife Poonam and three children aged 9, 11 and 14, Rs. 40 lakh to his parents in Rajasthan. The Delhi government had promised to give teacher’s job to Poonam but it is yet to keep the promise. Poonam says she is facing lot of difficulty in looking after the children all by herself.
Nitin Kumar
Son an e-rickshaw driver 15-year-old Nitin, a student, was hit by a teargas shell when he ventured out to buy chowmein in Gokulpuri on February 26. The family got a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh.
Firoze Ahmed
A resident of Loni adjoining shiv Vihar, he worked in Chandni Chowk as a garment alterer. He went missing on February 26 and his body was found in a drain in Khajrui Khas on March 9. He is survived by his wife and five children, including a daughter born after his death.
Dinesh Kumar
A resident of Karawal nagar, Dinesh was killed from bullet firing on February 26. He is survived by his wife and two sons. According to family, he had gone to buy milk when he was caught in the midst of violence and shot dead. The family has received a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh.
Pervez
The 48-year-old businessman and resident of Ghonda received gunshot injuries in his chest and died on February 25. He is survived by his wife and three sons. The family got a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh.
Yusuf (52)
He worked as a carpenter in Noida and lived in Mustafabad. He was attacked on February 25 when he was returning from work. He is survived by his mother, wife and seven children, the eldest 26 years old and works as a welder in Paharganj. The family got Rs. 10 lakh compensation.
Ayub Ansari
Working as scrap collector, 60-year-old Ansari was beaten to death in Shiv Vihar on February 28. However, his family did not receive any compensation due to lack of papers. While he had divorced his first wife and had a son-Salman, he lived with another women in Shiv Vihar. The first wife and Salman live in Ghaziabad.
Naresh Saini
A vegetable vendor, he sustained bullet injuries in his chest when he standing outside his house in Brahmapuri on February 25. He succumbed to his injuries on March 4 in a government hospital. He is survived by a minor daughter and a son. The family got a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh.
Suleiman(21)
A resident of a village in Hapur in Western UP, he lived in Karawal Nagar and worked as a blacksmith. He was killed on February 25. He was the only breadwinner in the family. His family received a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh.
