"On many mornings I have woken up with an urgency to boil milk to give Suleiman, as he would be studying before everyone else woke up. As I'd make my way out of bed, it would dawn on me that he was no more...," 55-year-old Akbari Khatoon, Suleiman's mother, is visibly overtaken by a wave of sadness while she speaks to The Quint about the year that has been since her 21-year-old son was killed in police firing in December 2019.
As part of our series, CAA: Lest We Forget, swe return to Suleiman’s home to understand where the case stands and the pressures under which his family continues to live.
A UPSC aspirant, meticulous with his notes, Suleiman's death was the first official admission by Uttar Pradesh Police of a protester dying due to police firing in the violence that erupted in the BJP-ruled state in December 2019. When Suleiman had died, the then Bijnor SP Sanjeev Tyagi had claimed while speaking to the media that a constable called Mohit Kumar 'had shot him in self-defence'. However, Bijnor's Special Investigation Team (SIT) gave the six policemen named by Suleiman's family in the complaint, a clean chit early about six months later in July this year.
“We have found Suleiman was involved in the protest and was an accused. Since he has died, no action could be taken against him,” Bijnor’s Additional Superintendent of Police Laxmi Niwas Mishra, who heads SIT, told The Indian Express then, also not sharing more details of this clean chit with the newspaper.
The family does not believe in the veracity of this SIT report that called Suleiman a rioter. "They have not even given us a copy of this SIT report. Who are they to decide that my brother was killed in self defence when they shot him themselves? A court will decide if they are an accused or not, or they will decide for themselves? They've given themselves a clean chit. Is this how justice functions?," Suleiman's elder brother, 29-year-old Shoaib Malik asked. Zakawat Ali, their Bijnor-based lawyer as well as Afzal Usmani, who is Suleiman's uncle and an advocate by profession, confirmed that they have never seen this SIT report. "The then statement of the SP regarding firing in self-defense was only made to calm the people and bring the situation under control. There is no clarity on what basis they have given their policemen a clean chit. We are being kept in the dark."
A total of 23 people died in these clashes between anti-CAA protesters and police officials in clashes that erupted across UP, including Kanpur, Firozabad, Sambhal, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut etc in the third week of December last year. Suleiman's family tried to file a complaint against the police officials from that very day. "We also wrote letters to the Superintendent of Police, Chief Minister and Prime Minister. Finally, our complaint was accepted on 28 December," said Suleiman's elder brother Shoaib Malik. He has submitted a written complaint naming six policemen who, according to him, were behind Suleiman’s death.
"The police has not only given themselves a clean chit, but also tried to bury our complaint by merging it with the case of rioting in the are," Shoaib continued. While Shoaib, Zakawat and Usmani are all unsure if the charge sheet in that FIR has been submitted in court or not, they say the court has not summoned them to give them a copy yet. In the interim, Shoaib has taken several trips in the last one year to get the best possible legal aid for his family.
With no hope for an FIR to be registered, the family has their hopes on a petition filed in Allahabad High Court before lockdown. In this petition, assessed by The Quint, the third petitioner is Suleiman's uncle, Anwar Lal Usmani. The petition, filed by Delhi-based advocate Mehmood Pracha, states, "Petitioner No. 3 is the uncle of Mr Suleiman, a young boy of 21 years of age who was murdered by the police personnel in Bijnor. The immediate family of the deceased have been harassed and threatened repeatedly by police officials ever since Mr Suleiman was murdered so as to prevent any official complaints from being filed or any proceeds being initiated against the guilty policemen."
Speaking about the petition, Shoaib says that they'll wait for the directions of the high court and if nothing happens even then they will move sessions court under Section 156/3 of the CrPC, with the hope that the court directs the police to register a complaint. " While they wait patiently for the court's directions with hope, the void at home has affected everyone deeply. "In January and February this year people came to meet us, but with the lockdown it felt like people had forgotten about our son," his mother said. When asked if the media was intrusive back then, they say, "No, we wanted to talk. It was a big tragedy, so we did want to talk to someone who could write what was happening with us."
Before Suleiman's death, there were two weddings planned in the house. After his death, the family wanted to postpone both weddings to observe a period of mourning. "In Salman's case, the girl's side broke the wedding off. We made requests but they did not want to wait anymore," they said. Salman remains unmarried. For Sonu's wedding, that was pushed back after the bride's family gave consent, Suleiman's sisters tell us why Suleiman was particular excited for this wedding. "Bhaiya had accompanied his uncle to meet his to-be wife. Since he was involved, he was very excited for the wedding," 24-year-old Gauhar and 26-year-old Sheeba said.
Looking at a packed tin suitcase, Khatoon tells us how he had returned from his uncle's home in Noida with a new set of clothes for Sonu's wedding. "He brought a set of neatly folded clothes and asked me to keep it in my suitcase safely, he was going to wear it for the wedding. When his wedding finally happened a few weeks ago, I looked at his neatly folded clothes and thought about how handsome my son would have looked," Khatoon says, breaking down. His 46-year-old father comforts his wife and says that ever since Suleiman's death they have not been successful in finding a groom for their daughter Sana. "There was talk happening with a family, but all of it got cancelled. They stopped responding," Zahid said wearing a worried look on his face.
His sisters tell this reporter that he was always cracking jokes and teasing them. His parents say they had expectations from him, "Looking at him, we felt proud. He was a good child, respectful and studied hard. That is more than you can say about most kids growing up these days. He had a rare maturity." The family says they have not celebrated Eid or any festival ever since. "It is not easy. The way we lost him, none of this makes sense yet," his father tells this reporter. He adds how his son loved Nihari and Biryani, just like him, and couldn't stop himself from gorging on barfi and rasagulla too.
While the family relies on their well wishers and each other for strength, when they come face to face with a policeman, old wounds get triggered.
Khatoon says, "I am not scared of anyone. When I see them, I feel like picking up a stick and hitting them hard. I want to do something, but then I remind myself that Allah will ensure justice for me. That my patience will be rewarded." Suleiman's father adds, "When we see them, we feel like our enemy is walking towards us. How could they kill my son? How could they shoot him down?."
It was finally in lockdown that Suleiman's belongings were removed and his room converted into a guest room. "Considering the amount of time we were spending at home after lockdown, it was getting suffocating to see his things lying just like that, unused and gathering dust." His belongings may have been tucked away, but very safely. His sisters take out his time-table, files and dictionary for us, like they had done when we met them last year.
As Sonu's bride settles in her new home, she is aware that she did not get the grand welcome she would have if Suleiman was still alive. When this reporter meets her briefly, she says, "I remember him coming to see him many months ago. I could not talk to him then. Now, I just want a case to be registered against these men responsible for the sadness in this home."
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