Haryana violence: For 3 families that lost breadwinner, life changes forever

The bereaved family recovered his bruised body from a government hospital in Mandi Khera on Tuesday morning

Jaina Devi, 32, regrets not stopping her husband Shakti Singh from venturing out at around 6pm on Monday when he heard that at least 200 people were trapped in a nearby gurukul after rioters laid a siege around it. Among those trapped was also his brother Ombir Singh, 30, who is a teacher there.

Rapid Action Force at Nuh chowk on Wednesday. (Parvee Kumar/ HT Photo)

A few hours passed, but Singh, 35, did not return. When the family finally heard about him after 12 hours, they got to know that he was killed.

Singh, like five other people, was a victim of the violent communal clashes that erupted in Nuh and soon spread to adjoining areas.

The bereaved family recovered his bruised body from a government hospital in Mandi Khera on Tuesday morning. “Me and our children are now left with a dark future,” Devi said. Singh worked as a mason in Mewat.

According to his elder borther Sukhbir Singh, who is a BJP worker, Shakti Singh was abducted soon after he stepped out of the home and beaten to death. “His body was thrown near an ice factory two kilometres away. A police team had spotted him and took him to a hospital but he was declared dead,” he said. His brother Ombir Singh, along with others, were only rescued at around 1am on Tuesday when police reached the spot after more than 10 hours.

Like Saini’s family, kin of two other deceased were grieving the loss of their lone breadwinners. Around 48 kilometres from Bhadas, Wakila Devi, 32, was fainting repeatedly at Garhi Bazidpur in Gurugram’s Sohna — which too was caught in the violence — after her 36-year-old husband and a state home guard personnel, Neeraj (identified by his first name), was killed while controlling the mobs during the clashes in Nuh.

A teary-eyed Chiranji Lal, the father of the deceased, said that Neeraj was the only one providing financial support to the family. He is survived by an 11-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter.

The last conversation his wife had with Neeraj was while he was leaving home at around 11am on Monday to reach Kherki Daula police station, from where he was later rushed to Nuh with several other policemen from Gurugram as reinforcement.

The news of his death was posted at around 5.30pm on a village WhatsApp group by a local boy, his uncle Latur Singh, 70, said. “...he was taken to Medanta hospital. However, when we reached there, he was already dead. He had a severe head injury and bruises all over the body,” he said.

Neeraj’s colleague, Gursev Singh, 32, was also a victim of the fatal mob attack — he was to return to his home at Fatehpuri in Fatehabad two days later on Wednesday on a 10-day leave.

Ramtejo Singh, his neighbour, while speaking to HT, from Fatehabad, said that his 55-year-old mother Sukhpal Kaur and wife Gurinder Kaur, 29, had fallen ill after the news of his death broke at around 5.30pm on Monday. “

Gursev Singh had last spoken to his mother at around 2.15pm, the neighbour said. The deceased’s father, Sehsi Singh, 59, is a small farmer in the village and the family was largely supported by Gursev Singh

“He had got his daughter Manjot, 6, and son Ekam, 5, admitted to a private school last year. Several from the village were members of the home guard force in Gurugram from whom I got the news of his death,” Ramtejo Singh added.

The Haryana government has announced ₹57 lakh as ex gratia to the families of each of the deceased. “We will ensure that the needs of the families are heard,” Virender Vij, Gurugram deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said.