Brothers reluctant to resume business in Dimapur
By A Ghyasuddin, TwoCircles.net,
Bosla village, Karimganj (Assam): Many things have been said, many pieces have been written about them. As the time gradually passes, their grief seems to have turned into seething anger here at Bosla village in the Karimganj district – home of the Dimapur rape accused Syed Sarif Uddin Khan.
Khan was lynched and hung to death after a mob broke the central jail on March 5 at Dimapur in neighbouring Nagaland. So far, though the Nagaland police have arrested several persons in this connection, it has yet to come out with a clear statement about what exactly went wrong that day.
The house of Syed Sarif Uddin Khan at Assam’s Bosla village (Credit : Biki Saha)
There is anger – for delay in justice, and, at the same time, there is apprehension. At the stunned Khan household, people from the neighbourhood often come to their home. Everybody was equally stunned and continues to be so even after more than a week of the incident.
“If I go back, I will be facing similar fate. I don’t want to go back to Dimapur again,” Nasir Uddin Khan, Sarif’s younger brother told TCN at their residence even as neighbours sat in the courtyard.
The villagers, mostly farmers and traders, come up with their own version of suggestions. The village is home to around 2000 people and a good number of people are living in Dimapur for business. One of them said the situation in Dimapur was much better earlier. “I stayed for pretty long time in Dimapur. It was a nice place for business but gradually the outside traders are being harassed,” he said.
For Khan’s another brother, Syed Kamal Khan, serving in the Indian Army – posted at Sonitpur district in Assam – it is a nightmare. “I was told to rush home for some immediate purpose when I was on duty. But what I have witnessed is a nightmare. I just cannot believe myself. I am more worried for my mother. I cannot tolerate this,” said an angry Kamal.
Khan’s two brothers – Juber Uddin Khan besides Nasir – were assisting him in running a second hand vehicle business for several years. After the ghastly incident, the family is now reluctant to send their sons back to that place. “What we have lost is immeasurable. Now, money or property does not matter to us,” said eldest brother Jamal Uddin Khan, who is serving as Havildar, Assam regiment of Indian army in Shillong.
Juber said his brother Sarif was physically assaulted a number of times inside the jail even before the public lynching took place. “When we questioned this, there was no answer from Nagaland Police. We could not expect any sort of help from the police. Even my life was also at risk but my sister-in-law (Sarif Khan’s wife) alerted me to flee home. Thankfully I survived but we lost our brother,” a frail looking Juber said.
He also alleged that it was a conspiracy and the girl (the complainant) was “used” for it. “The girl was known to us very well. She was asking Rs 2 lakh to withdraw the case. Some of the Naga people there in Dimapur were jealous of our wealth,” he said.
Now, the family says it cannot take the risk of going back to resume their business in Dimapur. “We had number of vehicles which were kept for sale in our shop. We see a gloomy future,” Juber said.
But, their main worry is their mother Jubeida Khanam, 60. “She is in a very unstable state. Whenever the memory haunts her, it becomes very difficult to console her. Moreover, besides two of our younger brothers, she was totally dependent on Sarif. Now our lives will be really difficult,” said the eldest brother Jamal.
The family has sought all the reports including the medical report from the Nagaland authority but so far no one has paid any heed to them. “Not even our own state government has played a role which we had expected. It’s pretty unfortunate,” he said.
Meanwhile, the report submitted by Senior Superintendent of the Dimapur Jail has revealed that two dreaded militants of the banned National Socialist Council of Nagaland – Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) were also freed from the Dimapur jail.
Quoting the report, CNN IBN reported that the jail’s first boundary was broken by a group of Naga women protestors. The report further claims that the police commander told the constables to lower their guns when the protesters tore open the first fencing.
The jail chief’s report also records that the request for additional forces was sent at 11.30 am but it took more than four hours to reach the jail at around 4.30 pm. It took the lynching mob about five hours to find the alleged rapist who was later killed, it said.
“These are some of the serious lapses for which this incident took place,” the report added.
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The killing silence and the enduring pain at Bosla village in Assam