Wednesday was like any other day for Radha, 47-year old mother of Rinku Sharma. She was unusually happier these days as she had successfully convinced her eldest son Rinku to get married. But she didn’t know her happiness would be so short-lived.
Rinku was murdered by his Muslim neighbours in the intervening night of Wednesday-Thursday. He was only 25.
Physical stabbing resulting in the death of Rinku happened on February 10. But the chain of events started on August 5 last year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Bhoomi poojan for Bhavya Shri Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Out of sheer enthusiasm like millions of others, he shouted the slogan of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ a little longer that day. He would often tell his friends he never thought there would be a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya in his lifetime. “He was very emotional about Shri Ram. If anyone was disrespectful towards Shri Ram, he would immediately request the person not to do so. He regretted not attending the pooja in Ayodhya,” Vishal, one of the close friends of Rinku, told Organiser.
Because of the Covid-19 restrictions, only very few people were allowed to attend the Bhoomi Poojan in Ayodhya.
He had a minor scuffle with his Muslim neighbours that day. Elders intervened. Rinku thought the matter was over.
But it was not to be.
In January, Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, trust constituted to look after the construction of Bhavya Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, started a massive fund drive to collect money for the temple.
But such rallies had become a cause for envy for Muslim communities. There were several instances of attacks on such rallies on the ground that ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans were raised. Three rallies in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, Indore and Mandsaur had come under heavy stone pelting in December. Several people were injured.
People participating in the rally in Gujarat’s Gandhidham in January were beaten with rods and sticks.
There were many rallies and programmes organised for the drive. One such programme was organised in Mangol Puri too. It was like a dream come true for Rinku. He not just participated but led it.
The victim’s family alleges the perpetrators had made up their mind by now. Wednesday night just provided them the opportunity they were looking for.
The accused Mohammed Mehtab, Tasuddin, Zahid, Nasheruddin and Mohammed Islam live just four houses away from Rinku’s.
The feelings of Rinku for the accused family could be understood from the fact that just a few months back, he had donated blood to Nasheruddin’s pregnant wife. Manu, the younger brother of the victim, told Organiser, “We never thought they would take away his life too.”
The accused family had also approached Rinku for getting their Corona test done.
On the fateful night of Wednesday, the accused family approached the victim’s house armed with rods and sticks. Manu told Organiser, “They came prepared to kill us. Why else would about 20 people come to my house armed with rods and sticks?”
They banged on the door. Before Manu could gather himself and lock the door again, they dragged Rinku in the street. He ran for about 20 metres.
“My brother tried to enter someone else’s house. But, it was all locked. Before he could move further, he was stabbed. Only if I could have dragged him inside in time, he could have been saved”, said Manu.
Both, Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital and Raj Park Police Station are just 100 metres from the victim’s house.
“Even inside the hospital, the accused thrashed Manu, tried to pull out the knife from Rinku’s back,” Vishal told Organiser.
The police have been denying the religious intolerance as the reason for murder, rather told that the stabbing was a result of a fight at a birthday party.
Sonu, whose birthday party Rinku attended the very same night, told Organiser, “About 12 of my friends were attending the party. There was a fight between two friends. But, Rinku had nothing to do with it. Just once or twice he requested both the friends, who were fighting, to calm down.”
The victim’s family barely manages to survive. Because of poor health, the father is unable to work. So, when Rinku started working as a lab technician in a private hospital, Radha, mother of the victim, was happy for two reasons.
First, it would make it easier for her to manage household expenses. And more importantly, she thought it would be easier for her to convince her eldest son to get married.
“I had never imagined my dreams would be shattered like this”, she told Organiser. She has a poor heart condition and is diabetic. She was just hoping for a more helping hand in the kitchen.
Many leaders visited the victim’s family to offer their condolences. Surprisingly, there is no statement or tweet from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“Kejriwal can go to Dadri to meet the family of Akhlaq. He can go to Hyderabad and Rajasthan. But, he is unable to go to Mangol Puri which is just 20 minutes away from his place. Why?”, asked Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra.
Mangol Puri is a sleepy town in Delhi’s North West district. The district has a population of 40 lakhs of which about 10 per cent are Muslims. With about 2 lakh electorate, Mangol Puri assembly constituency has been a reserved seat for Scheduled Caste since 1993. It has about 40 per cent Scheduled Caste population.
The Congress’ Raj Kumar Chauhan represented the constituency in the assembly from 1993-2013. Since 2013, Aam Aadmi Party’s Rakhi Birla is representing the seat.
The murder has sent the shock tremors in the area. Sunita, 41, a neighbour of the deceased told Organiser, “In this lane, there is just one Muslim family. This murder has sent the chill down our spine.”
Rinku was associated with Bajrang Dal. The victim’s mother was unable to control her tears when Surendra Jain, Joint General Secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, visited the family to offer his condolences.
Jain told Organiser, “Dhruv Tyagi. Ankit Saxena. Dilbar Negi. Ankit Sharma. You can add many more names. These are no isolated incidents. Always, the motive is to teach Hindus a lesson.”
If this is so, the question looms large: Who next and where?
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