Haris Ali2140
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Delhi riots: 85-year-old’s young killers used to greet her in locality
NEW DELHI: Akhbari Begum was awaiting the birth of her great grandchild, but the 85-year-old resident of Khajuri Khas in northeast Delhi did not live to see the day. Her house in Gamri Extension was set ablaze by rioters on February 25 and she suffocated to death. On Wednesday, Delhi Police arrested two brothers who live five houses away for the crime.
Begum often exchanged greetings with Arun and Varun when their paths crossed. Begum’s son, Mohammed Saeed Salmani, recalled how neighbourly relations changed drastically on that fateful February 25. He was out buying milk when he received a call from his son, who breathlessly informed him that an armed mob had entered their lane and were setting shops and houses on fire. Salmani rushed back to find their four-storey house in flames, his family on the roof.
Ironically, Salmani had apparently run into the same group of men earlier and told them to return home to safety since there was tension in the air. The men had later torched Salmani’s house. Each floor of the house had been ransacked. A room in which his mother had taken refuge was locked from outside, trapping her in “the smoke furnace”, as he described it. “We tried to go upstairs to rescue her, but we couldn’t do much because of the dense smoke,” Salmani said. “Police rescued other members of the family, but my mother was trapped.”
On Thursday, Begum’s family told TOI that though they had received a compensation of Rs 10 lakh from Delhi government, the amount was no recompense for their losses, both emotional and monetary. “This sum will not even help us repair the scorched house, let alone buy all the things we lost and need to replace,” Salmani said. “We have been staying at a relative’s house for the last couple of weeks, but don’t know how long this arrangement can continue.”
TOI had spoken to Arun and Varun on February 26 in their home, located on the same lane as Begum’s house. They swore they hadn’t seen what the rioters had done out on the streets. “We were at home when the mob arrived,” one of the brothers had said. “We were very scared when we later learnt what had happened. We didn’t know the woman (Begum) too well, but always greeted her when we saw her. Whatever happened is really sad and leaves us frightened too.”
The duo was arrested from their home on Wednesday for being participants in the mob attack. On Thursday, their sister maintained, “I believe that my brothers are innocent. They could not have been a part of the mob. They can never harm the neighbours in this manner,” she claimed.
https://m.timesofindia.com/city/del...-her-in-locality/amp_articleshow/74602557.cms
NEW DELHI: Akhbari Begum was awaiting the birth of her great grandchild, but the 85-year-old resident of Khajuri Khas in northeast Delhi did not live to see the day. Her house in Gamri Extension was set ablaze by rioters on February 25 and she suffocated to death. On Wednesday, Delhi Police arrested two brothers who live five houses away for the crime.
Begum often exchanged greetings with Arun and Varun when their paths crossed. Begum’s son, Mohammed Saeed Salmani, recalled how neighbourly relations changed drastically on that fateful February 25. He was out buying milk when he received a call from his son, who breathlessly informed him that an armed mob had entered their lane and were setting shops and houses on fire. Salmani rushed back to find their four-storey house in flames, his family on the roof.
Ironically, Salmani had apparently run into the same group of men earlier and told them to return home to safety since there was tension in the air. The men had later torched Salmani’s house. Each floor of the house had been ransacked. A room in which his mother had taken refuge was locked from outside, trapping her in “the smoke furnace”, as he described it. “We tried to go upstairs to rescue her, but we couldn’t do much because of the dense smoke,” Salmani said. “Police rescued other members of the family, but my mother was trapped.”
On Thursday, Begum’s family told TOI that though they had received a compensation of Rs 10 lakh from Delhi government, the amount was no recompense for their losses, both emotional and monetary. “This sum will not even help us repair the scorched house, let alone buy all the things we lost and need to replace,” Salmani said. “We have been staying at a relative’s house for the last couple of weeks, but don’t know how long this arrangement can continue.”
TOI had spoken to Arun and Varun on February 26 in their home, located on the same lane as Begum’s house. They swore they hadn’t seen what the rioters had done out on the streets. “We were at home when the mob arrived,” one of the brothers had said. “We were very scared when we later learnt what had happened. We didn’t know the woman (Begum) too well, but always greeted her when we saw her. Whatever happened is really sad and leaves us frightened too.”
The duo was arrested from their home on Wednesday for being participants in the mob attack. On Thursday, their sister maintained, “I believe that my brothers are innocent. They could not have been a part of the mob. They can never harm the neighbours in this manner,” she claimed.
https://m.timesofindia.com/city/del...-her-in-locality/amp_articleshow/74602557.cms
