Tragedy binds families of 'murderer', victim

The small time trader of Daryaganj in Old Delhi was about to leave for the Delhi High Court when he received a call on Wednesday. The caller was his neighbour Naeem, whose brother Shahnawaz was arrested by the police for the murder of Fahim and has been in jail since then.

Naeem made the call even as blood gushed out of the multiple wounds on his leg. “There has been a blast here, don’t come to the court,” was all he could tell Yasin before being taken to Safdarjung Hospital along with other victims of the explosion at the gate of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.

Naeem, an employee of the BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, went to the court as Shahnawaj’s bail plea was to come up for hearing in the High Court on Wednesday. With him were Shahnawaj’s maternal grandfather Nizamuddin and two other brothers,  Aamir and Salimuddin.

Shahnawaj’s mother Mumtaz was at home, keenly hoping that the High Court would release her incarcerated son on bail.

But, instead of receiving her son at home, Mumtaz had to rush to Ram Manohar Hospital, where she was told that her octogenarian father Nizamuddin had been killed in the deadly blast. As a wailing Mumtaz waited in front of the hospital’s trauma centre to see her father’s mortal remains, she had beside her Yasin and Sanjeeda, the parents of Fahim, whom Shahnawaj allegedly killed.

If the murder in 2009 soured the relation between the two families, the tragedy on Wednesday brought them together again. “Whatever happened in the past has happened. It is now my duty to stand by my neighbours in this hour of grief,” said Yasin, as Sanjida tried to console Mumtaz.

Fahim’s parents have doubts about police investigation into their son’s murder. “I don’t know why the police arrested Shahnawaj. My son told us before succumbing to his injuries that he was killed by another local youth called Naved,” said Yasin.

Nizamuddin had come all the way from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh to be present at the hearing of the bail plea of his grandson.

Though Salimuddin and Aamir had reached the High Court early, Nizamuddin and Naeem were late and waiting for entry formalities to be completed when the blast took place. “My son is in jail…and now my father is also gone. They are not even allowing me to see his body,” mumbled Mumtaz, with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Also inconsolable was Liaquat Ali, who runs an automobile spare parts shop at Jhandewalan in central Delhi. Along with his sons Rashed, Shahid and Imran, Ali went to the Delhi High Court in connection with a case of attempt to murder lodged against the family by his daughter’s in laws. “All my three sons got injured in the blast.

I don’t know how I remained unhurt,” said Liaquat, with blood stains all over his white shirt. “I don’t even know how they are now. I am not being allowed to go inside the hospital.”