Delhi riots: To find loved ones, they move earth

As families waiting outside the mortuary slowly left — some with the bodies of their loved ones, others with hope that they are still alive.

Twenty five-year-old Meena has been visiting Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital for the last three days to find her missing uncle, Than Singh. He had gone to decorate a wedding venue near Loni border on Monday morning and had not returned since. On Sunday, her wait ended in shock and despair. Her 50-year-old uncle was among the 42 people who had died in communal clashes in north-east Delhi.

A victim’s mother with her son’s photograph at GTB Hospital, New Delhi. (Sanchit Khanna/HT photo)

A security guard of the mortuary overheard the name of the man she was looking for, and broke the news to her.

“He did not marry so that he could support our family. We could study only because he stood up for us and sponsored our education,” Meena said.

While Meena learnt about her uncle’s death, there were many others whose wait for their loved ones continue. As families waiting outside the mortuary slowly left — some with the bodies of their loved ones, others with hope that they are still alive. Heena Kausar, a resident of Sonia Vihar continued to wait in the hospital’s hallway, hoping for some news of her husband Parvez Ali.

By 5pm, she had looked at all the bodies inside the mortuary at least five times and had also taken multiple rounds of the wards where injured patients were being treated. She had gone to her mother’s house, leaving her children behind with her husband.

“Around 7pm on Monday, my husband went out to get some food for our three children. They insisted that they wanted to eat something from outside, and he probably underestimated the extent of the violence. He hasn’t returned since,” Heena, trying to control her tears.

Saba, Heena’s sister, said the police have been of little help in their search for Parvez.

“The police told us there are so many people who are dead and missing, and that they did not have time to look into one case. Where do we go? At least the families of the dead have got some closure,” Saba said, taking turns to console her sister and father.

Among those missing was 18-year-old Pankaj, who had left home on Monday morning. His uncle, Vijender Singh, who was found sitting on the footpath with a picture of his nephew, spent all of Saturday night rummaging through debris.

“There are no reports from the police station, and no updates from hospitals. Yesterday [Saturday], after leaving the hospital, I went around Nand Nagri, Shiv Vihar and Maujpur to ask residents if they had seen Pankaj. When everything failed, I even tried to move around debris of gutted buildings to see if I could find anything,” Singh said.

Looking at his photo, Singh reminisced, “This picture was taken a month ago. I had taken him to a local studio and he had specifically asked the photographer to make him look like the actor Salman Khan. He was the funniest in our family, and always found a way to bring a smile on everyone’s faces.”

A group of residents from the riot-affected areas, who are helping families find their missing members and arranging for last rites of those who have found the bodies, said that on Sunday, 15 people reached out to them, asking for details of missing persons.

“The bodies that were identified have all been released. There is one body in the mortuary that is charred beyond recognition and there are three other bodies that unidentified. We are helping these families with whatever we can,” said S Hassan, a retired government official who has been helping the riot victims.

Hassan said that apart from all physical help, he and some of the locals are also trying to spread the message of communal harmony by providing financial support to both Hindu and Muslim families who have lost members.

“It is important to spell out the message of love and unity in these troubled times. Most people who have died belong to very poor families. I have been here since Tuesday and have seen that many did not even have the money to transport the bodies of their loved ones,” Hassan said.

Mohammad Aaqil, one of the volunteers helping the bereaved families, said police and government rescue teams are yet to reach neighbourhoods where the riots have left nothing standing. He said that unless the rubble from burnt and damaged buildings is cleared, the actual number of deaths will not be ascertained.

“We went around distributing relief material in Shiv Vihar Saturday and police and government officials are yet to reach these areas. People are running around looking for their loved ones and I hope they are alive and healthy, but there could be people buried under the debris,” Aaqil said.