JOIN USThey shot my brother, thrashed him, pushed him into burning house: Delhi violence survivor
He saw his brother being shot and burn to death in his house set ablaze by a frenzied mob, but Mohammad Salim says he has not lost all hope in humanity as he and his family found shelter at a Hindu home amid raging violence in northeast Delhi.
On February 25, around 9.30 am, a mob barged into Anwar's house and set it on fire after dragging him outside, recalled Salim, a resident of Shiv Vihar.
"They thrashed him, shot and injured him. He tried to walk away but they again thrashed him and later pushed him towards his house which was on fire," he said while waiting outside the mortuary of the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.
Helpless, Salim watched the horror unfold from the Hindu family's house where he along with his family took shelter. "I could not do anything. I watched my brother burn in front of my eyes," he said.
The 58-year-old's body was lying in the house for over 24 hours and only after security personnel came, it was taken to the hospital, Salim said.
Anwar, a goat rearer, is among the 38 people who lost their lives in the violence in areas of northeast Delhi that broke out on Sunday over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
People in the mob took away the goats, Salim said, adding that they later broke the lock of his house and looted valuables, money and essentials, before setting it on fire.
"My daughter's marriage was in the next two months, but the mob not only set my house on fire but they fled with all the jewellery and money which I had kept for my daughter's wedding. But everything is destroyed now," he said.
Salim said he would not disclose the name of the Hindu family which sheltered them and will always pray for their safety and wellbeing.