cities

Updated: Dec 22, 2019 21:13 IST

KANPUR A pall of gloom descended on Begumpurwa locality after people came to know about the demise of one Mohammed Raees here on Sunday.

This locality, which had witnessed maximum violence during clashes between police and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protestors on Friday, witnessed three deaths so far while around 13 people suffered bullet injuries during violence.

“Nothing is more unfortunate for a father than to be a part of his son’s funeral procession. My son was innocent, he was never a part of the procession,” said Mohammed Shareef, father of Mohammed Raees, 30, who breathed his last on Sunday.

Raees, who used to sell roasted ‘papad’, had suffered bullet injuries during the clashes on Friday. Consequently, his father got him admitted to the hospital on Saturday.

“My son was innocent. He was returning home after work when he saw the commotion in our locality. Before he could gauge the situation, he suffered bullet injury in his abdomen and fell on the ground,” said Shareef who resides near Ayubia Madarsa in Begampurwa locality.

“I won’t be forgiving those who shot my son,” said Shareef.

People of Begumpurwa locality, who were still in a state of shock, termed it an unfortunate incident.

“We haven’t slept for two days. The sight of police shooting our innocent children is haunting us. Three children from our locality, who suffered bullet injuries, have lost their lives in the incident,” said Mohammed Shoeb, a local from Begumpurwa locality.

Munna, another resident known to Mohammed Raees, said: “Raees belonged to a poor family and used to sell ‘papad’ for a living. His father, in his early sixties, paints banners along the roadside and his mother washes utensils at marriage lawns. How can a person, who hardly had any time for himself, be a part of the protest? Police have unnecessarily targeted our youths,” he alleged.

The kin of Mohammed Aftab Alam of the same locality, who succumbed to bullet injuries also blamed the police for being insensitive towards people.

Alam’s family members claimed that he was a daily wager and was going to collect money from his contractor when he suffered bullet injury in his abdomen. Alam’s father had passed away five years ago and his mother Nagma works as a help.

Similarly, family members of Mohammed Saif (another deceased) also accused the police of targeting youths. “Two bullets hit my son, one in his hand and other in stomach. He was too young to die. He was just 22 years old,” said Qamar Jahan, his mother.

The police conducted the post-mortem examination of Raees late on Sunday evening and his last rites were performed later amidst tight security. Mohammed Aftab Alam and Mohammed Saif were laid to rest late on Saturday.

Dr Anil Kumar, SP (Kanpur West) confirmed that the death toll had risen to three, as one more person, Mohammed Raees died at LLR Hospital at 4pm.

CAPTION: Mohammed Shareef, father of Mohammed Raees who died on Sunday evening, pushing the death toll up to three in Kanpur.