Batchmates and colleagues from the BSF and NIA remember Ahmed as a jovial and respectful colleague and friend.
Slain Border Security Force (BSF) officer Tanzil Ahmed was laid to rest with full honours at south Delhi's Batla House crematorium. Two unknown assailants in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, shot the BSF officer who had been deputed to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) since the past six years.
Ahmed who was returning to Delhi after attending a family wedding was shot 21 times whereas his wife Farzana who was with him suffered wounds to the stomach. Ahmed's 16-year-old daughter Zimnish and 14-year-old son Shahbaaz escaped unhurt. Ahmed was declared dead at a nearby hospital whereas Farzana was shifted to a Noida-hospital soon after.
The Ahmed family including Tanzil's elder brother Raghib Masood's family was in Sahaspur, Uttar Pradesh – their ancestral village, attending their niece's wedding. The Ahmed family of eight left for Delhi soon after midnight once the bride left for her husband's home.
The bylanes of Shaheen Baug echoed with wails of sorrow as family, friends and neighbours thronged the Ahmed house to receive him. Raghib who reached his home – he lives opposite his younger brother Tanzil, was inconsolable.
"Mere bhai desh ke liye shaheed ho gaya, (my brother sacrificed his life for the country)" he wailed. The distraught relatives and friends received Ahmed's remains at 5:30 in the evening and soon started performing all necessary rituals. He was brought to his elder brother's house giving all his loved ones a chance to bid him goodbye. His body shrouded in white was showered with flowered and prayers. Ahmed was then draped in the tricolor before being taken to the cemetery.
According to Farzana's childhood friend, allegedly, the Ahmed family was going to give the wedding a miss as Tanzil was unable to take off from work due to prior commitments. Fate, however, had other plans.
Batchmates and colleagues from the BSF and NIA remember Ahmed as a jovial and respectful colleague and friend. Friends and neighbours, however, Tanzil Ahmed as someone who was jovial, helpful, respectful, involved in the society and a common man just like them. Ahmed and his family lived in Shaheen Baug since the past 20 years, and yet, his neighbours did not know what he did for a living.
"We thought he was a government employee and an inspector of some kind," a neighbor stated.
However, behind this projected persona of a common man, lay a brilliant mind and a dedicated officer who sacrificed his life for his nation. Ahmed born on July 9, 1968, joined BSF passed as a Direct Entry Sub-Inspector. He rose to the ranks and was deputed to the NIA in 2009. Before joining the NIA, he was part of the in house team of BSF giving vigilance cover. Ahmed also had a successful tenure as a trainer at the BSF Academy Tekanpur and the Training Centre and School at Hazaribagh.
In the midst of the sorrowful atmosphere, there is a sense of disbelief. "We cannot believe he worked for the NIA and was so important to our nation. Most of what we have just learnt is from the reports in the media. For us, he was simply a common man – just like us," said a neighbor.
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 "Mohammad Tanzil")
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