Enough, 14-yr-old leaves city of fear

Javed Sheikh, the 14-year-old who lost three family members in the Naroda-Patiya massacre, has left for Gulbarga in Karnataka — never t...

Javed Sheikh, the 14-year-old who lost three family members in the Naroda-Patiya massacre, has left for Gulbarga in Karnataka — never to return. ‘‘I was born here but I also lost my parents and sister here. There are too many bad memories here,’’ said Javed, who boarded the train yesterday along with his uncle Khalid and his brother Aslam Sheikh. Aslam lives in Gulbarga and had come over to sort out the matter of compensation.

Javed said: ‘‘I might come down for a visit when I grow up. But moving back to Ahmedabad is out of the question. In fact, I have asked my elder brother and my uncle to sell our Naroda house for it reminds me of the terror my family had to live through on February 28,’’ he said.

‘‘I have been collecting everything I think is important,’’ said Khalid who lost six members of his family at Naroda-Patiya. Both Khalid and Javed received compensation cheques on September 18. The money Javed received has been invested in a fixed deposit while Khalid says he plans to donate part of the money.

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‘‘I had walked into this city more than 20 years ago empty-handed. This city gave me a lot but now there is not a soul here that I can call mine, so there is no point in living here,’’ he said.

Javed, who had quit studying a couple of years ago, plans to resume his school education: ‘‘Collectorate Officials have already sent a letter to the Collector of Gulbarga who will help me get admission in one of the schools there. I want to grow up and become a policeman.”

Javed and his uncle, however, have to make one final trip to the city. ‘‘We will have to come back to sell our houses. As of now, there are no takers but maybe after six months, someone might want to buy them,’’ Khalid said.