A father’s call, from Malegaon

Shafiq says his son’s death could be recompensated only by development in this town

Listed as a ‘survivor’ of the Malegaon blasts, this 42-year-old D Pharma degree holder Shafiq’s wounds run deeper than are visible. Now better known as the Number 3 who returned a cheque handed to him by Madam (Sonia Gandhi) as compensation after the blasts, he looks for justice for the victims and development in Malegaon.

On that September afternoon, Shafiq had lost his 18-year-old son, Sajid. As fate would have it, the family (Shafiq, his son, his brother Shakil and Shakil’s son Shahbaz) which was walking to the city’s graveyard to pray for the soul of Shafiq’s father, ended up carrying out another unscheduled journey to the qabristan. Both Shafiq and his brother lost their sons to the blasts. Sajid was to leave for China, a week later, to join an MBBS at the Jiujang University.

Shafiq, who is in the national capital this week to “try and get some justice” for those killed in the Malegaon blasts and assist in the hunt for those who caused it, recounts the ensuing episode. He insists that he had no intention to return the cheques. But, he says, barely having dusted off the mud from his hands after laying their sons to rest, he and his brother were summoned to a “programme” where the Chief Minister, the Congress president and other top honchos of the party were to be present. Suddenly, says Shafiq, the programme started without any introduction. “There were no condolences for the dead, no condemnation of the blast.”

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“And the names of some of the next of kin were called out: No. 1, 2 and then 3…I took the cheque from Soniaji, and then couldn’t bear to hold it. I simply returned it,” says Shafiq.

Partymen were embarrassed as Shafiq held forth on how there was no sensitivity or even a condolence for his son and other victims buried a few hours ago, but he says, “Madam didn’t flinch. I went on about how I didn’t need a lakh and a half the morning after my son’s death. I told her that she should know what it was to lose someone in bomb blasts. The local Congressmen tried to remove me, but she told them to stand back, and I told her all about all our problems—the tragedy of Malegaon, the town that has been forgotten.”

Shafiq is amongst those who believe that Malegaon is a symbol of the forgotten and nameless people, which saw an explosion a few months back. Yet, it is the town of the forgotten people as “We are Muslims?”, Shafiq asks.

He doesn’t wait for an answer, but hastens to repeat what he had told Sonia Gandhi, the day he read the last namaaz for his son.

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“I told them all: You are ruling Maharashtra for around 50 years, barobar, and yet, the town is way behind its neighbouring towns. Not enough doctors, no jobs, nothing. Now, I don’t need one and a half lakh for my son, but if in exchange for his life, the town can get some hospitals and facilities….”

“We do pay taxes, you know. If those who live here can get a sense that they have a life, I suppose…” and he trails off, the hapless father of a dead son, temporarily made famous for returning a cheque, which he says was no compensation for that moment, which shortchanged him for life.