Neighbours gather for glimpse of ‘blessed’ man who died at holy place
Preety Acharya
The body of Sewri resident Mohammad Shoyab, who died in the blast at Ajmer on Thursday, was brought to his residence late on Friday night.
The body was taken to Shoyab’s home in the Hussain Mistry Chawl, where hundreds gathered to mourn his death and catch one final glimpse of him.
“He must have been Allah’s favourite child, since he died at the doors of Khwaja Saheb. I’ll be fortunate to get a look at his blessed face,” a bystander said.
Shoyab’s mother and his 40-year-old wife, however, lost consciousness in their grief.
“Last month my father lost his sister. Now, we have lost our father. Our family will not be able to bear this,” said Shoyab’s 18-year-old son Imraan, who was told about his father’s death only on Friday. A devout Muslim, Imraan was observing the aitkaaf, a ritual that required him to stay inside a mosque for the 10 days leading up to Eid.
“When my father was leaving for Ajmer, he warned me that aitkaaf would be tough,” said Imraan. “Once you enter the masjid, you won’t be able to leave, even for a funeral. How ironic that I had to do just that.”
Grief soon turned to anger in Shoyab’s neighbourhood. “What’s the point of paying taxes if the government cannot protect the common man?” asked an angry Sherebanu Khan, Shoyab’s neighbour.
“Does the government realise every community deserves protection?” added neighbour Feroza Ansari. Another relative, Mohd Azhar, said: “We will certainly take up the matter with the government.”
