Khandawali (Faridabad), June 26: As villagers Monday wore black bands to protest the killing of a Muslim youth onboard a Mathura-bound train, his elder brother, Hashim, struggled to come to terms with the reality that he would be celebrating this Eid without his sibling.
Despair hung like a shroud over Khandawali village, lying on the outskirts of the national capital, as the family and other locals remained in a state of shock over the brutal killing of their 17-year-old “son” Junaid.
The Muslim residents, who wore black bands during the special morning namaz Monday, said Eid has lost all its meaning and wondered if “the spate of lynchings” would ever end.
Junaid’s father Jallaludin (55) told reporters that Eid would never be the same for the family.
Though prayers were offered in the morning, no Eid celebrations were held here.
The villagers gathered around Jallaludin and other family members, consoling them in their hour of grief.
Reports stated that people also wore black bands at some other places, including Mewat, as a mark of protest against the horrific killing.
Hashim (20) broke down several times as he recalled the fateful Thursday evening when he along with his other siblings boarded the train from Delhi’s Sadar Bazaar after finishing Eid shopping.
“They killed him in cold blood. All of a sudden, a group of 20-25 persons who had boarded the train from Okhla station pushed my brother Junaid and he fell down,” he recalled, his voice choking with emotion.
“When Junaid and I asked why they were pushing, they pointed to the skull cap on my head. They said we are Muslims, anti-nationals, Pakistanis, that we eat beef. Then they pulled my cap, threw it down and they also tried to pull my beard,” he said. Jallaludin, while trying to console Hashim, dismissed the police’s claim that Junaid was killed because of a dispute over the sharing of a seat. AGENCIES
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