The family of 22-year-old Mohammad Umar, who died in the firing, is still in mourning.
For most in the city, the violence that unfolded at Azad Maidan on August 11 could be just another case of rioting . A month down the line, the families of the people, who died after sustaining bullet injuries or were tortured in custody and later declared innocent, are still picking up pieces of the horrific ordeal.
The family of 22-year-old Mohammad Umar, who died in the firing, is still in mourning.
“His young wife Siddiqua, who is barely in her twenties, has been widowed. She sits in a closed room mourning her husband’s death. According to Islamic tradition, Siddiqua cannot step out of the house for 40 days. She cannot show her face or talk to outsiders,” said Shabaz Munnavar Khan, Umar’s nephew.
The family, however, is not aware that Umar who fell prey to the bullets had been a history-sheeter with cases of cheating and encroachment registered against him. “We are not aware of Mohammad’s past record, but that surely does not absolve police of showering bullets in which he got killed,” Khan said.
Three of the five acquitted innocent victims faced abuse in police custody. Repeated attempts to reach 26-year-old Abbas Ujjainwala, who was picked up by the police on false grounds and later released, failed. The Rapid Action Police (RPF) had broken Ujjainwala’s nine teeth after which he was also threatened and abused by the Arthur road jail authorities.
On contacting his brother Hussain Ujjainwala, he said, “Abbas was under immense mental trauma after the abuse in jail. He has not been able to tend to his fast food restaurant in Kurla, which was doing a thriving business before he was illegally picked up. He has taken off to his native village for a month and does not wish to be hounded by media.”
Eighteen-year-old Anees Daware, who was freed after being declared innocent, has not been able to stand on his own feet since he was bashed up by the police in custody. “Anees has sustained injuries on his legs. He is on heavy medication for the last two weeks. He used to work in a garage, but he can’t go for his job now that the doctors have advised him rest for at least one month,” said Mohsin Daware, Anees’s elder brother.
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