: Anita Devi doesn’t have an answer for her son Vansh when he asks about his father’s whereabouts. Her husband, Sanjeev Kumar, was killed in firing by security forces on February 21 at the nearby Munak Canal.
According to an FIR filed in connection with the violence at the canal, Sanjeev was part of the mob that tried to murder a government official posted there and disrupted the flow of water to Delhi.
The family of the 32-year-old, however, said Sanjeev was just passing by.
His father, Maha Singh, said Sanjeev had gone to attend a wedding in Narela in neighbouring Delhi. Anita added that he had left home at 7.30 a.m. for his job as a security guard.
“We don’t know what time he left work, what time he went for the wedding and what time he came back. We just got a call late at night saying that he had been shot,” said Mr. Singh.
Sanjeev was the youngest of three brothers. They had all been forced to take security jobs as the family was unable to hold on to its 1.5 bigha of land.
“He had only started this job five months ago. His only interest in life was earning enough money for his family,” said Sanjeev’s brother, Ram Karan.
As she held a family portrait that was taken a month before Sanjeev’s death, his mother, Shanti, said the family was “left in the dark”.
“We don’t know what happened. Our son was snatched away from us. I could kill the man who shot Sanju,” she said, breaking into tears.
The family said Sanjeev was a victim, not a culprit, and that they should be given a compensation. However, local authorities insisted that he was part of the group of men that blocked the canal, and prevented a government officer from discharging his duty.
For Anita, who is inconsolable as she looks at her husband’s photo, only justice for Sanjeev will do.
“I want justice. My son is only seven years old. He keeps asking me what happened to papa. He keeps saying ‘tell me the truth’. What do I tell him,” said Anita.
His [Sanjeev Kumar] only interest in life was earning enough money for his family
Ram Karan,Sanjeev’s brother
