Boy ‘killed’ by cops in Tappal and mourned by Rahul is back home

Three farmers and a PAC man were killed on August 14,2010,after an agitation against land acquisition for a township along the Yamuna Expressway turned violent in Tappal in Aligarh district. Villagers and the family claimed that Rafiq,who was then a student of Class 8,also died in the violence. Some people claimed to have seen Rafiq being carried away in a police vehicle.

The police denied all charges. Neither the body nor any evidence of death was ever found. The police recorded Rafiq’s disappearance as kidnapping and,after failing to crack the case,last week closed the investigation.

Following the Tappal incident,Rashtriya Lok Manch chief Amar Singh visited Rafiq’s family and gifted them Rs 1 lakh. Rahul Gandhi met Rafiq’s father Mohammad Safi when he went to Aligarh on a padyatra. Following pressure from the family and local people,the district administration gave Safi Rs 10 lakh as compensation.

On Wednesday evening,Rafiq,14,showed up at his home in Kansera village. He told the police turns up at home police that he had left home and gone to Mumbai after his father scolded him.

The father,Safi,said,“I spent the compensation money on the weddings of my daughters Rubia and Shabnam in February. I can’t raise the money now. Maybe I can pay back in instalments. But no one has asked me so far.”

Aligarh DM Alok Kumar said an inquiry would look into all aspects including whether the family knew Rafiq was alive. “Action will be taken if the family is found guilty.”

Safi’s nephew Jameel said Rafiq had told them that he worked at the home of a dairyowner called Omkar Tyagi in Mumbai. Three days ago,he had decided to return home and taken a train to Aligarh.