By Masihuzzama Ansari
VARANASI (Uttar Pradesh)—During the nationwide CAA protests, an eight-year-old boy named Saghir was killed in police lathi-charge on December 20, 2019, in Bazardiha, Banaras, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Uttar Pradesh.
The child’s death was not the only cause of mourning for the already traumatized family. But the high-handed and the merciless attitude displayed by the police during such time added more pain and misery to the mourning for the family that had lost its eight-year-old child. Sadly the police pressured the family to bury the child’s body in the dark of the night.
The victim’s family claims that the family did not file any report even though more than two years have passed since the tragic incident.
Dozens of people injured in the police brutality are still undergoing treatment. Some injured became financially weak due to prolonged treatment, some could not survive even after treatment and have died, and some are allegedly troubled by the police till this day on cooked-up and bogus charges.
In this report, we will talk about eight-year-old Saghir, after whose death the police forced the family members to bury the dead body in the dark of night. None of the family’s close relatives or friends could participate in the child’s funeral and burial.
Saghir’s house is visible as one comes out of a narrow street in Bazardiha. The house is a dilapidated structure with plaster peeling off from the walls.
On entering the house, there is a room of about 10×12 in which five members of Saghir’s family live. The kitchen, living room, bathroom are all connected in that hall-like room.
On December 20, 2019, hundreds of people came out of their homes to demonstrate against the controversial and contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Bazardiha. It was Friday, and it was around 4 p.m.
But before people could move towards the road, the police suddenly swung into action and started a brutal lathi-charge without warning. There was chaos everywhere as protesters started running helter-skelter, falling on each other.
When the police ‘outrage’ subsided, dozens of people were found toppled on each other in a heap as the helpless people tried to escape the raining of the lathi blows – some lying unconscious, some injured, and some bleeding profusely.
According to a resident, an eight-year-old boy, Saghir, who was injured in a sudden lathi-charge by the police, died.
Residents allege that “Saghir died due to injuries sustained in the police lathi-charge, so the family was forced to bury the body under police pressure in the dark of night.”
It is alleged that the police had suddenly attacked the peaceful demonstration, leading to chaos, confusion, and injuries to scores of people. However, the police are not ready to answer these allegations.
Vakil Ahmed, the father of the deceased Saghir, told India Tomorrow, “My son was not a part of any demonstration. He was playing when he went out for some work. After a while, the news of the lathi charge and stampede came. We kept searching for Saghir for a long time, but we could not find him anywhere.
Ahmed adds in a sad tone, “The family members kept searching for five to six hours, and then someone asked us to rush to the trauma centre. When I went to the trauma centre, the CO(Circle Officer) Sahib showed the photo and asked if this was your son, then I recognized him. Then the CO Sahib said, go see the body is kept inside. So I saw that it was my son Saghir’s body.”
Recounting the horror, Ahmed said that he was shown his son’s body around midnight, and after the post-mortem, he was taken home in the presence of the police, and the police pressured him to bury the body in the night itself.
The victim’s family has not lodged any complaint in this matter. More than two years have passed since this unfortunate and tragic incident.
Vakil Ahmed is a ‘bawarchi’ (cook) by profession and cooks for weddings and other events. Saghir was the third of four brothers. The age of 7 years is recorded in the post mortem report, but the family members maintain Saghir was ten years of age.
According to the family, the station house officer (SHO) of the Bhelupur police station had assured them of justice and proper government compensation. But as fate would have it, he was transferred somewhere else within a few days.
Chanda Bibi, the maternal aunt of the deceased Saghir, said, “My nephew had gone towards the road while playing, and his body came to our house in the night.”
In a voice choked with emotion, she recounts, “We could not even see our nephew’s body properly, and without the presence of family members, we were forced to send the body for burial in the dead of night.”
When asked for the reason for the haste in the funeral, she gets emotional and says, “The police had brought the body with them and was pressurizing for early burial. We were not allowed to inform anyone, and neither the police gave us any time.”
According to Chanda Bibi, “We had to bury the dead body of our child in the dark of the night.”
When asked if the family received any compensation from the government, Saghir’s grandmother Shahnaz Akhtar said, “My child is dead! No compensation can bring my child back to life.”
She adds: “Many people promised that they would get compensation, but no one came to our house from the government’s side in these two years.”
Police accused of breaking CCTV cameras
Speaking to India Tomorrow, a resident of Bazardiha said that after the baton charge, the police targeted the houses where CCTV cameras were installed.
Police destroy evidence of brutality
On condition of anonymity, a young man told India Tomorrow, “In the dead of the night, police with the help of bamboo ladders entered many houses where CCTV cameras were installed.
They either destroyed the cameras or took them away. “Another young man told India Tomorrow, “Many people had made videos of police brutality. These videos clearly showed how the police attacked the peaceful demonstrators and injured scores of people. But the police forced and pressurized the people to delete these videos from their mobile phones and the CCTV cameras.”
Another eyewitness told India Tomorrow that “The police also smashed CCTV cameras installed at various places on the streets. Also, police forced people to delete videos people had taken of the police vandalism and hooliganism.”
Residents recounting the horror incident said, “Never have we seen such police barbarism. Police broke open houses and mercilessly beat up people and arrested them.”
India Tomorrow tried to contact ACP Bhelupur Pravin Kumar Singh but could not get the police version of the story.
Bhelupur police station SHO declined to give any comments or reactions.
This story first appeared on indiatomorrow.net