Mohsin Ali ran a generator rent-and-repair shop in Noida. The 23-year-old got married in December and was living with his wife and younger brother in Uttar Pradesh's Khoda area. On February 25, when riots had erupted in northeast Delhi, Mohsin got a work call. He was renting out a generator for a wedding at the Green Garden banquet hall in Sabhapur along the Delhi-UP border. “He was called by the banquet hall. They wanted him to send a person to start the generator early since the situation in the adjacent Khajuri Khas area was quite bad,” said Imran Khan, Mohsin’s uncle.
Around 4.15 pm, Mohsin left his shop in Noida for Sabhapur. He said he also had to pick up some parts from Kashmiri Gate and so would go to the Sabahpur banquet hall himself instead of sending a helper. That was the last time his younger brother Wasim spoke to him.
Mohsin’s number was found to be switched off since 5:45 pm that day. His brother, uncle and young wife waited all night, impatiently, knowing full well that his route to Sabahpur was through the riot-hit Khajuri Pushta area. Their fears were not for nothing.
The next day, on February 26, his younger brother went looking for him at around 11 in the morning. Wasim went till Khajuri Chowk, but the place was heavily guarded by security personnel and he couldn’t proceed further. He returned home, without any news of his brother. He went back again in search of Mohsin around 3pm with his uncle Imran. This time, they found Mohsin’s car (UP 373691) completely burnt and overturned near Durga Mandir, Karawal Nagar. “We went looking for our Mohsin, but only found his burnt car. The car was in such a bad shape that it gave us the chills. People there told us all the injured had been taken to GTB hospital. That’s where we headed,” said Imran.
At the hospital's mortuary, Mohsin’s father and friends went through a line of dead bodies. Once they even mistook a body of a young person with a bandaged head as Mohsin’s. "But when we showed that picture to his mother and wife, they disagreed. He looked the same age as Mohsin, but was wearing the wrong clothes. We still had hope,” Imran said.
But all their hopes were shattered the next day, when police informed the family that a charred body was found right next to Mohsin’s burnt car. The body had been taken away in a sack from the spot by the cops, roughly an hour before Mohsin’s family found the vehicle on February 26.
This burnt body was in no condition to identified. The remains were sent for post-mortem on February 29: smaller burnt bones and four larger pieces of bones, believed to be the skull. The autopsy report also talks about foreign objects like nails, metallic sheet, etc, which were found on the remains. The family is convinced this is Mohsin.
“The horrors that our young child went through are unimaginable. The cops told us very clearly that since the remains were found near Mohsin’s burnt car, that has to be him. He was tortured by nails and then burnt alive. He had only gone to do his work. How unfair is this world,” said Imran.
At a young age, Mohsin had started running his own business. He had his own car and was taking care of his family of seven: his parents, a young wife and four brothers. Most of his family still lives in Salai, Hapur. “He was their city boy. Full of dreams and aspirations. He was also associated with the BJP minority wing in Hapur. The boy was ambitious and talented,” said Imran.
A DNA test is underway. Blood samples were collected from Mohsin's parents on March 4. It’s been nearly two weeks and the family is still awaiting results.
The family is in Hapur. His young wife is inconsolable. “We only want closure. We want to bury him with dignity. He deserves that at least,” said Imran.
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