Why train shooting victim’s son fears he may not get justice

Irsquom not a haterrdquo says Hussain Bhanpurawala explaining why hersquos wary of calls from strangers that hersquos been flooded with since July 31 the day his father Abdul Kader Bhanpurawala was gunned down on a train by RPF jawan Chetan Singh He has also questioned the governmentrsquos silence on the issue and fears the accused will get political supportHussain however refuses to see the incident through a religious lens Three bearded Muslims were targeted by the jawan but Hussain points out the first person to be shot was Singhrsquos senior a Hindu ldquoI donrsquot think in those religion termsrdquo he says repeatedly ldquoSome of the calls I got were from people who wanted me to act like a haterrdquo he addsPointing to his lawyer Umesh Rana whorsquos intervening on his behalf in court with advocate Vishnu Bhatt Hussain reveals that they have been friends for the past 23 years ldquoMy dad was like his dad Umeshrsquos family is my family Since this happened my house has been full of my Hindu friendsrdquoHussain has been working in Dubai since 2008 living alongside ldquoa hundred different communities Pakistanis Bangladeshis Indians I see all communities as onerdquoHussain Bhanpurawala right Chetan Kumar Singh the accused File picIt is from this perspective of ldquoonenessrdquo says the 36yearold that he wants to ask the powers that be ldquoAs a citizen what support have you given merdquoAfter meeting the seniormost police officers in charge of the case Hussain is ldquocompletely satisfiedrdquo with the investigation ldquoWe had thought police will protect one of their own but Irsquom confident that wonrsquot happenrdquolsquoWhy is govt silentrsquoWhatrsquos tormenting him is the deafening silence from the government ldquoNo one has reached out to me not from Delhi not from Mumbai Not a single call saying we are there for you come meet us Letrsquos see what we can dordquo The local MLA he says came to his house folded his hands and leftlsquoHe took big namesrsquoHussain links this silence with jawanrsquos speech after the shooting the video of which went viral ldquoSee the names he has taken These are not small names Yogi and Modi they are the face of India And it is Modirsquos people who are in power in Maharashtra I fear that he will get political support But where does that leave merdquoIt was this silence that made him take the unusual step of appointing his own lawyer ldquoHow could I have not done sordquo he asks ldquoWhen therersquos no support from the government I have to protect myself I have faith that the police will build a watertight case But what happens once the case goes to trialrdquoAt that stage says Hussain he wants a special public prosecutor to be appointedldquoI have a few demands Trial in a fasttrack court a special PP maximum punishment for the culprit and no bail I donrsquot want that criminal to step out of jailrdquo says Hussain vehemently banging his hand on the tableTraumatisedEvery time he goes to court he comes back traumatised While he is not allowed inside the courtroom his lawyers have told him that Singh behaves like a ldquorobotrdquo a ldquonewborn baberdquo Hussain refuses to buy the defence theory that Singh is mentally ill ldquoHe rang up his wife after the shooting to tell her she would have to look after his children nowSo he knew what he had done Had he been mentally ill he would have shot everyone in sight not select passengersrdquoWhat really disgusts him he says is the sight of journalists milling around the defence lawyers ldquoI canrsquot bear to listen to their defence of him He killed four people Itrsquos no joke All of us will be in pain our whole livesrdquoHussain was especially close to his father who had also worked in Dubai and lived with him before returning to Mumbai for good in 2016 ldquoWe were more like friends He would even call me lsquosaaleyrsquo affectionately He was always teasing me asking if I had become too big for my boots Irsquoll miss all thatrdquoWhat rankles most is that his mother had spent 25 years of her married life alone in Mumbai unable to join her husband because of her childrenrsquos education ldquoThis was their time together He would accompany her everywhere she would come and sit at his shop in the eveningsrdquolsquoHe loved to help othersrsquoAbdul Kader Bhanpurawala was a jovial man who liked making people even train attendants laugh He also loved helping people rushing off even if a call came after midnight The family basked in his good nature Today they feel insecureSince both Hussain and his brother work in Dubai theyrsquove decided to take their mother back with them instead of coming back to settle in their Nallasopara home as originally planned Hussain wonders if he can ever feel safe in India again Itrsquos not just the fear of being shot by a public servant paid to protect him Itrsquos the silence of the government that has alienated him ldquoI may live in Dubai but India is my home Today I feel alone in my own landrdquo2016Year Abdul Kader returned to India from Dubai for good