The family of Qateel Ahmad Siddiqui,who was found dead inside Punes Yerawada Jail Friday,hasnt still got an official word on his death. It was their neighbours in Barh Samaila village in Darbhanga,from where four youths have been arrested in the recent past on terror charges,who informed them after seeing the news on the television.
It isnt the first time 50-year-old Gulshan Ara and husband Zafeer Siddiqui find themselves in the dark. When The Indian Express had visited Qateels house last month,a hopeful Gulshan had peeked out from inside her mud-and-brick house to ask: Mera baua ke koi khabar hai (Do you have any update on my son)?
They hadnt heard from him,they said,since February when he was brought for identification. It was on November 22 last year that Qateel was arrested from Delhi.
Among the families of four to be arrested from here,Qateels is the poorest. He had been the sole earning member. Gulshan,who earns some money as a panchayat samiti member,runs her family of four on that amount now,apart from what Zafeer makes from his four bighas of land. Their two young daughters live with them.
The last they had heard of Qateel was from their daughter-in-law,who lives in Delhi,who told them that Qateel had been shifted to a Pune jail. My daughter-in-law used to get calls from police about Qateel, Gulshan said.
Qateel,who worked at a watch repair unit,had been the first person linked to Barh Samaila to be arrested. Gulshan had pleaded the Express for help last month,saying Qateel had been framed. We have no money to hire a good lawyer, she said. Their hopes dashed now,Zafeer is meeting Darbhanga district magistrate for one last request: that Qateels body be brought to Barh Samaila for the funeral.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
