Dehradun (Uttarakhand): As District administration in Uttarakhand's Nainital asked the locals in violence-hit Banbhoolpura to “maintain peace”, the family of 43-year-old daily-wage labourer Mohammad Zahid and his son Mohammad Anas (18), both of whom were killed in the violence, is unable to make peace with the irreparable loss with Zahid being the lone earning hand to support the family.
According to the family members, Zahid and Anas were shot during the violence that broke out during the demolition of an Islamic seminary and another place of worship which the authorities claim were built “illegally”.
Recalling the fateful day of Feb 8, the family from Gafoor Basti locality of Banbhoolpura area said that after returning home from the day's work, Zahid had gone to a nearby shop to buy milk for the children. As Zahid was on way to the shop, the sound of gunshots were heard in the area, the family recalled.
Worried about the well-being of his father, Anas also started moving towards the shop to see his father, the family said. They said that in the next few minutes, Zahid was shot dead first. When Zahid's son Anas ran towards him to save his father, he too was shot dead, said the family.
Zahid has left behind his wife, a son and a daughter. With the lone earning hand gone with his son, the small family is staring at a bleak future. The family members are in shock ever since the incident and are terrified remembering that dark night.
Zahid's sister Guddu recalled that everything was normal in their locality on Feb 8 when the local Municipal Corporation and police team had reached the “Malik Ka Bagicha” area that evening to remove the “encroachment”. Guddu said that violence soon broke out in the area after miscreants set a local police station ablaze culminating in the death of at least six people including Zahid and his son Anas.
The family members have demanded justice for the slain father-son duo. “After the incident, people from the administration came to our house and left after talking about maintaining peace. But no one talked about compensation or how the family's livelihood would be managed now. All we want is justice and strict action against whoever has done wrong,” a family member said.
