Mohd Saeed Salmani had stepped out to buy milk on Tuesday morning and before he could return, a mob entered his house and set it on fire, killing his 85-year-old mother Akbari in North East Delhi.
Salmani came to know about the incident as his children called him over phone asking him to rush back as "100-150" had gathered at their house by breaking open the main gate. Salmani runs a garment workshop in first two floors of the multi-storeyed building in Gamri where his family also lives.
"It was around 11 am that I went out to buy milk. I had to cross two streets. My son called me over phone saying rioters have entered my home," Salmani said.
The rioters first set fire the ground floor where he runs the garment manufacturing unit. Then they went to first, third and fourth floors and set them on fire. His four children -- two sons and two daughters aged between 15 and 20 years -- were also inside the house.
As Salmani tried to enter the house, locals prevented him saying that rioters would target him too. His children managed to get out of the house by jumping roofs but his elderly mother was by then suffocated to death.
Her body could be retrieved only nine to 10 hours later after the fire brigade managed to bring the blaze under control.
The death toll has now touched 37, while the condition of some of the injured continues to be critical.
Another victim Aman (19) suffered bullet injuries and died when he went out to buy milk. Similar was the case with Mehtab (21).
(Published 27 February 2020, 13:45 IST)
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