A love story that never ended peacefully. In what would be called a nightmare, a 21-year-old who got married on valentine’s day loses husband to riots after 12 days.
Newly married couple
21-year-old Tasleen Fatima got to serve the one last meal to her husband, Ashfaq Hussain (22), before he was shot by rioters in east Delhi on February 25. The couple got married on Valentine’s day, 12 days to the date.
After being on a wedding holiday, Hussain, a resident of Delhi, had traveled back to Mustafabad on Sunday night at about the same time the conflict first started in nearby Maujpur and Jaffrabad in east Delhi. Meanwhile, the bride and the groom’s father, along with other members of the family, waited another day to return.
By the time Fatima joined her husband in Delhi on late Tuesday morning, the situation in Gokulpuri and the rest of Mustafabad grew worse.
The last meal
It was on Tuesday at 2 pm, Tasleen prepared some delicious food, and she and Ashfaq ate along with the family. It was the first meal the couple spend time together since the wedding. The rituals of the wedding and Ashfaq’s early departure had held the couple from spending any time together.
Ashfaq, an electrician, stepped out of the house soon after lunch when he received a call. A nearby house had suffered power cuts and his services were felt needed.
By the time he reached the place, Ashfaq was reportedly shot and his body was taken away before his family would come to know.
Ashfaq’s father informed about the death
Ashfaq’s father who happens to be a vegetable vendor stated that he got to know about his son’s state when a local told him they saw his son soaked in blood.
“I was turning home after namaz when local people told me that they noticed my boy bleeding and that he was taken to a local hospital,” he told News 18.
Ashfaq was rushed to Al-Hind hospital in New Mustafabad where he died. Later the body was sent to GTB Hospital in Dilshad Garden for further post-mortem. The family is unaware when they will receive the body for the last rites.
According to the sources, the locals informed that a group of people armed with guns, sticks, petrol bombs and other weapons started appearing in packs in Mustafabad from Sunday night. The situation was out of control.
“We continued dialing cops, fire stations, but nobody answered. Moreover, ambulances were not permitted to enter till Wednesday,” a source said.
