‘Case has taken away everything from my father’: For families of five who got bail in 2020 Delhi riots case, verdict is bittersweet

At the Jamia Nagar home of Shifa Ur Rehman, his wife Nooreen Fatima and their two sons could not contain their excitement.

“There is some guilt at the back of our minds because Umar and Sharjeel are not out. Our happiness is not complete today. But it has been a long wait for us,” Nooreen said. “I cannot wait for him to scold me for staying up late at night watching TV serials. He was a loyal viewer of Crime Patrol, while I would watch these emotional dramas,” she said.

Nooreen recalled that Shifa would call twice a week from jail, each time for five minutes — three minutes for her and their children, and two minutes for his mother. “What do you even say in three minutes?… I would record those three minutes of conversation and play them on loop,” she said.

Old photos of Shifa Ur Rehman on his fridge at his residence at New Delhi on Monday. Abhinav Saha

Their sons were in Class 2 and 5 when Shifa was arrested in 2020. The older one has his Class 10 Board exams in weeks.

In her home in Okhla, Meeran Haider’s sister said Meeran could not believe he had been granted bail. “He asked us, ‘Is this for real or is this fake news?’” she said.

Meeran, 35, was studying for a PhD at the time of his arrest, and he continued to read in prison. “Books hi sahara tha uska. He lost so many years,” she said. The family, she said, was ready with the bail bond so that Meeran can come home as quickly as possible. “We don’t want even a minute of delay from our side,” she said.

Saima, the eldest daughter of Saleem Khan, was cautiously happy when she heard the news. “Of course we will celebrate his return and we are very happy. But it pales in comparison to what we have been through,” she said.

“This case has taken away everything from my father, his parents, his siblings, even his business… Even now, he’s only got bail, not an acquittal. We still have a long way to go,” Saima, who has spearheaded her father’s legal battle for the last five years, said.

The family had lost many friends because of the allegations, Saima said. “Everyone slowly disappeared from our side. I understand their point of view. Had we been in their place, I too would have helped only from a distance,” she said.

“I think they were scared that if they were seen with us, they would also be picked up by police and branded terrorists,” she said.

They found friendship and solidarity in the families of the other accused, though. “Everyone whose family member went to jail came together for one another. A different kind of family emerged,” she said, smiling.