By Ghazala Ahmad
A young Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh was killed by the cops on January 16. The police claimed he was an accused thief and was killed in an encounter, while the family insists he had nothing to do with theft and was cold-bloodedly murdered.
The incident took place when 23-year-old Matin, also known as Bilal or Billa, a resident of Khatauli, district Muzaffarnagar, left home as usual for Sabzi Mandi (vegetable market) to buy vegetables for his cart. However, he didn’t return home for lunch on that day.
According to the family, they received a phone call from an unknown number at around 3:00 PM on the same day, with Matin speaking on the other side, saying, ‘I have been shot by the police and is in the Medical Hospital Meerut,’ and the call got disconnected.
The family called the provided mobile number several times but didn’t receive a response, so they decided to go to the hospital to see for themselves.
Upon reaching the hospital, the family found Matin in a severely injured condition, lying on a hospital stretcher, surrounded by police officers.
“We were not allowed to meet him; the police didn’t let us,” said Sonu, the maternal uncle of Matin. He went to the hospital along with Abrar, Matin’s father, and younger brother Danish.
“We were told that they would let us meet Matin in an hour. They kept telling us this for the rest of the day and even on the other day until 7:00 PM when we learned that he was no more,” Sonu told Maktoob.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here .