Salim [name changed] asked the attackers to kill him but spare the women, said the brother-in-law of the 40-year-old scrap dealer who was shot dead in Jewar on Thursday.
The assailants, who were not ready to bargain, murdered him and raped four women members of his family. “If you want to die, die,” one of the attackers told Salim when he pleaded, for the last time, that the women be spared.
“They pulled the trigger and silenced him, and us,” said the relative.
Held at gunpoint
The family had pleaded for mercy all through the ordeal, but Salim was reportedly the most vocal. “When they first held us at gunpoint, we had strict instructions to look down as they walked us into the fields. Once there, they made us kneel down before tying the hands of the men and misbehaving with the women,” the relative added.
‘Don’t misbehave’
“Salim asked them not to misbehave with the women even as we were tied up. This angered the attackers who said ‘ abhi dikhaate hain badtameezi kya hoti hai (We will show you what misbehaviour is)’ before taking one woman into the sugarcane fields nearby. We couldn’t see anything because of the crop and darkness,” he added.
The four attackers, who returned after allegedly raping the woman, then proceeded to assault the other three women. Salim objected again, after which he was shot dead.
‘They abused us’
Two assailants, meanwhile, kicked and punched the men, even hitting them with rods. “They abused and threatened us,” said the relative.
Earlier, the men had fired a few shots in the air to intimidate the victims. They took away ₹32,000 from the brother-in-law, ₹11, 000 from Salim and nearly ₹3,000 from two others. They also took away the silver and gold jewellery the women were wearing.
Neighbour was on call
Asked if he could describe the men, the relative said that they were forced to look down through most of the ordeal. However, he did catch a glimpse that suggested all of them were young men dressed in pants and shirts. One of them was wearing a vest, he added.
A neighbour who Salim was reportedly speaking to at the time the assailants struck said that he suddenly heard the women screaming and unknown voices instructing them to park on the side.
