April 10, 2015
Mohammed Ahmad, 60, father of Vikaruddin Ahmed, is in a contemplative mood a day after he buried his son. He says what happened was probably the way God had willed it. He says he would do his best to get his dead son justice, but it was ultimately up to the Almighty.
April 10, 2015
Mohammed Ahmad, 60, father of Vikaruddin Ahmed, is in a contemplative mood a day after he buried his son. He says what happened was probably the way God had willed it. He says he would do his best to get his dead son justice, but it was ultimately up to the Almighty.
Police officers look at the bodies five prisoners who were shot dead by police after the vehicle from which they allegedly tried to escape is brought to a government hospital at Janagam. (Source: AP)
In an interview at his home in Hyderabad's Old Malakpet, Mohammed Ahmad told The Indian Express that his son might well have committed a crime – but he would have liked the courts to punish him, not the police. "The police killed him in cold blood, and that is what hurts," Mohammed Ahmad said.
He narrated the story of Vikaruddin and his family over the past several years.
"I was working in Saudi Arabia as a construction engineer. My elder son Iqbal had also joined me there. Vikar and his mother were living here (in Hyderabad). We were financially comfortable and happy," Mohammed Ahmad said.
"In August or September 2008, Vikar left home, saying that he was going to New Delhi to attend an interview for a job in the Gulf. I came to know much later that it was all rubbish. Police were detaining many youths after the Mecca Masjid blast, and he was afraid that he too would be picked up. So he ran away. I also came to know that he was mixed up with the Darsgah-e-Jihad-o-Shahadath (DJS), and used to attend meetings there," he said.
Mohammed Ahmad said he or his family never liked or supported such organizations. "I do not know how Vikar got mixed up, and ended up being labeled as a dreaded terrorist. Even policemen were scared of him."
After Vikaruddin was arrested in July 2010, his father quit his job in Saudi and returned to India. "He was a good boy. He was doing B.Com but I don’t know why he never consulted me or his brother or anyone else in the family if he was worried or concerned about something. We would have guided him, put some sense into him. Instead he misled us to believe that he was looking for a job abroad and left home. For 15-20 days he kept in touch with his mother, but after that he completely disappeared."
Mohammed Ahmad said that he was aghast to find out a year later that his son was in fact living in Hyderabad, not far from the family home. "It was heartbreaking to see his name flashed on news channels, saying that he had attacked and shot and killed policemen. I do not know if it is he who did it or someone else. When he was arrested I wrote to the then Commissioner of Police that the law must take its course, and if he is guilty and a court sentences him to death, I would accept it," the father said.
"I saw him again only after he was arrested, nearly two years after he had left home. By that time he had somehow gained notoriety as a dreaded terrorist. When I met him in court, he was surrounded by at least 50 armed policemen, and they were all afraid of him," Mohammed Ahmad said.
He said he hired two lawyers for his son, who told him that they were confident that Vikaruddin would be acquitted, because the police would not be able to prove the charges against him and the four others who had been arrested.
"On April 6, Vikaruddin gave a petition to the court stating that he should be transferred from Warangal jail to Hyderabad as the case was going here. He also told me several times that he was afraid that police would conduct a fake encounter. The court was to give an order on April 7 at 1.30 pm regarding their request to be shifted to Hyderabad, but they were never brought to the court. The police killed them in cold blood, and I believe they were all still handcuffed at that time. That is what hurts. If the court had sentenced him to death I would have accepted it, but the police chose to deliver the punishment," Mohammed Ahmad said.
"I met him last on March 15. In recent months, he had mellowed a lot. He said that if he ever got the chance, he would come home and take care of me and his mother. He also asked for a number of books on yoga which he was practising in jail to keep himself healthy. Sometimes he asked for new clothes. I believe that it was God’s will that this should happen. I will petition the courts and police that an inquiry should be conducted and those who were involved in this cold blooded murder should be brought to justice. The rest is in God’s hands," Mohammed Ahmad said.
Courtesy: Indian Express
