Doc who excelled in sports, survived Gujarat riots but faced prosecution

He is not like any other victim of the 2002 communal riots. A medical practitioner, he was honoured with the ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ award in Gujarat in 1992. He has won more than 100 medals in state-level competitions and seven at national shooting competitions.

The riot victim is Dr Yunus Bhavnagari, who not only saved himself but also 13 others in his family as well as neighbourhood. However, he still had to face prosecution and prove his innocence during police investigation. Bhavnagari and his son Aamir, who is also a dentist and talented shooter, were arrested by the police for allegedly murdering a youth during the 2002 riots. They spent traumatic three months in jail.

Later on, it was found that Bhavnagari had fired a bullet in self defence as he and other people were trapped in Delight Flats near NID in Paldi. In his words, when there was no escape route, he fired a bullet from his licensed pistol that killed one local youth. An FIR was lodged against Bhavnagari and his son.

“I can never forget the trauma that my family and I experienced when the incident happened on February 28, 2002,” says Bhavnagari, who runs a clinic at Patva Sheri at Relief Road. According to Bhavanagari, the incident happened late afternoon when Bhavnagari reached home as usual, unaware of the occurrences that would soon unfold. Most of the residents of the apartment had left in fear of the riots.

Mostly women remained in flats and Bhavangari and Aamir took up the battle to save every one. They went to the main entrance and requested the rioters to leave, but nobody paid heed to them.

The attack intensified and Bhavngari had to take out his pistol and fire at the mob. A youth fell down and the crowd became more violent. The doctor was jolted after Aamir was injured when the firing was returned by someone in the crowd. The situation was turning very ugly --- before a ray of hope appeared in the form of senior police officials who had arrived on the scene. But Ellisbridge police lodged a case of murder against the Bhavnagaris, and both father and son were arrested. "We survived, but we had to face another battle. However, the truth came out and the senior police officials realized that we were innocent,” he says, adding, “We had fired in self-defence and they closed the complaint against us."

Asked about the killing of people in communal riots, Bhavnagari, who has multiple hobbies like aeroflying, fishing and trekking, said, “Hindu or Muslim, whoever kills his fellow man, the family has to suffer. Why this frenzy, I cannot understand! " The doctor added, "How can this happen in real life? I have seen such riots for 30 years. The atmosphere in Ahmedabad should be tranquil, where Hindus can live peacefully with Muslims and become friendly neighbours, like in Mumbai and other cities."