On his way to work, Mohammad Ayaan, Nafeeza's 17-year-old son, was shot and murdered by police. In the sambhal city of Uttar Pradesh, the path leading up to Shahi Jama Masjid is eerily silent. The place was in ruins only a day before when the Uttar Pradesh police opened fire on a Hindutva crowd yelling genocidal chants and local Muslims demonstrating against a court-ordered assessment of the mosque, killing five individuals.
Shahi Jama Masjid, a mosque from the 16th century, gained notoriety after a petition was submitted alleging that a temple was destroyed to make way for the mosque. With the current occurrence, a troubling trend of mosque attacks has been revealed. Meanwhile, the neighborhood has been decimated by the bloodshed.
According to locals, the authorities arrived early on monday morning—around six in the morning—to carry out the surveys. people began congregating outside the mosque as word got out. Chaos resulted as the situation worsened at that point, with rumors turning into false information.
The scene worsened when Hindutva organizations joined up, yelling slogans and using disparaging language.
Instead of defusing the situation, the Uttar Pradesh police opened fire on the demonstrators during this time, which led to stone-throwing. In addition to firing the demonstrators, the police were reportedly observed throwing stones.
Five people lost their lives in the violence, leaving their families in ruins and several more hurt.
Maktoob arrived at the beginning of it all in the shadowy lanes of Sambhal. police officers surrounded the Shahi Jama Masjid, and the front gates were closed. The routes leading to the masjid were blocked by police officers sitting on chairs outside. A woman is sitting a few meters from the mosque, lamenting the loss of her son. Nafeeza is intermittently losing consciousness while muttering something. Since monday, she has been weeping.
According to family members, her 17-year-old son, Mohammad Ayaan, was shot and murdered by police officers when he was his route to work. Nafeeza was waiting for her adolescent son's body, but she was too sick to talk.
Ayaan was the family's sole provider and used to work at a nearby hotel. The renowned 'Ek Raat Wali Masjid' is situated in Sambhal's Kot, where he and his mother, a widow, had a modest home. His two sisters are already married.
There was a great deal of pain and bitterness when the family members were questioned about what had transpired. In the morning, he was in route to his job at the hotel. Tensions had already reached their zenith by then. Perhaps he was on his way, or he went to check what was going on. However, all we know is that he was shot," Maktoob was informed by Nafeeza's neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous.
After being taken to a hospital in Moradabad right away, Ayaan was pronounced dead. The small youngster was conscious as the throng lifted him up, according to a local reporter who was there at the scene.
We all believed he would live since he was also speaking some things. However, we learned of his passing a few hours later," the local journalist Aseem continued.
Ayaan's body was eventually brought home to the family on monday at about 8 p.m. after they had been waiting for it since Sunday. The ambulance arrived at the Kot alleys, where Ayaan had spent his whole life, amid a dense police presence.
Nafeeza ran and knelt down in front of her kid, weeping, as soon as she saw him.
"I am coming soon," Nafeeza whispered, sweeping her hands over his head while the ladies behind her sobbed. You left even though you promised not to. But don't worry, my lovely boy, I'll be there shortly."
"This is what they are doing to our boys," said a furious mother.
Mohd Kaif (17), Noman, Mohd Bilal Ansari (25), and Naeem (28), the other deceased, were named.
A few homes to the left, Nayeem, 60, is sobbing uncontrollably. He is in ruins because of his son's uncertain future. Wasim, Nayeem's 17-year-old son, was injured when two police bullets struck his back as he was operating a rickshaw.
"I didn't know what happened since I was working. Later in the afternoon, I received a call from someone telling me that my kid had been hurt and was being sent to the hospital," Nayeem recalled.
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