Mangaluru firing: 'Family lost its lone breadwinner’

Abdul Jaleel of Kandak, who died in the police firing on Thursday, had nursed dreams of grooming his children as model citizens of the country by providing them good education.

He was eking a living by selling fish and was residing with his family in a rented house. The family members said that if he earned Rs 100 a day, he would set aside Rs 50 for the education of his daughter Shifani (14), studying in ninth standard, and son Shabeel (9), studying in the fifth standard. Of the remaining amount, Rs 40 was set kept for household expenses and Rs 10 for his daily expenses.

“Now, the family has lost its lone breadwinner,” informed Jaleel’s nephew Nazeer.

Noticing the chaos outside the house on Thursday, Jaleel had asked his children to go inside the house. When he stepped out, he was struck by a bullet fire by police and breathed his last as his family watched in horror from the balcony of their house.

“Allah is looking what my mother is going through,” said Naufal, brother of Nausheen from Kudroli, another person who died during the firing.

Nausheen was not good in studies and was employed as a welder at Bunder. When the protest against CAA turned violent, his owner had asked him to return home. Nausheen had left the shop early, only to be felled by a bullet from police.

Highlighting their poverty, Naufal said that there were four children to their parents. “As the eldest, I work in a shamiyana shop. My younger brother and sister are studying. Though our father is working in the Gulf, our financial condition has forced us to work in order to supplement the family income,” Naufal added.

“Leaders took us to meet Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday. The chief minister, in turn, has promised to conduct a fair probe. Will the police bring them back to us after the investigation,” asked the family members of Jaleel and Nausheen.