Sayeeda battles for life while child waits for her

With her mother battling for life at the Victoria Hospital two days after the incident, Rukhsar has stillnot stopped crying.

Begum’s mother Fatima Bi, who is camping outside the hospital’s Burns Ward, says: “I cannot see the baby’s suffering. She’s longing for her mother.”

While Begum’s sons Riyaz and Sahil were not present when the incident occurred, her eldest daughter Shaista witnessed the horrific incident. “I saw a glass of some liquid being hurled at my mother,” she said.

With the chances of Begum’s survival getting slimmer with each hour, Fatima is concerned about the children’s future. So is Begum’s husband, Kaleem. He wants Jabeena and her family, who had reportedly poured kerosene on Begum, to be expelled from the locality.
Kaleem works at a saw mill for Rs 100-150 per day, while Begum was earning a paltry Rs 200 per month as a maid. She, however, would get food every day. But making both ends meet was a painful struggle for the family which lives in a small rented house.

Recounting the incident, Fatima said that Begum came to meet her after lodging a complaint with the police. She asked her to go home and shut out the door from inside, Fatima said.

“But these people (neighbours) apparently entered the house forcibly and started raining blows on her. When I rushed there, they also beat me up,” Fatima said. She saw Begums’ clothes being reduced to ashes.

Although Begum’s family stood by their charge that she was set ablaze by Jabina and her relatives, police, however, claimed that Sayeeda had set herself ablaze. “Eye witnesses said this. But we are investigating the matter,” D J Halli Inspector B V Pradeep said.
Jabina was remanded to judicial custody by the Eleventh Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate R Rajeev Gouda.