Family of riots accused fights for justice
The Hindu
Mohammed Salim Khan, who was an exporter of shawls and scarves for 25 years, now languishes in jail
Two years ago, in a photograph with his wife, standing near the fridge in his house, Mohammed Salim Khan wore a blazer and had black hair. In a photograph from the jail a few days ago, he has grown bald and his beard has turned grey.
Salim — an exporter of shawls and scarves — was arrested on March 11 last year in FIR number 59 registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell under Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code in connection with the communal riots that broke out in February 2020. This is the same FIR based on which former JNU student Umar Khalid among others have been lodged in Mandoli jail.
Back at the house in north-east Delhi’s Yamuna Vihar, 48-year-old Salim’s wife Shavina (43) tries hard to control her tears as she says, “He sounds disoriented on the phone. He is starting to become forgetful. We have one son and two daughters. Sometimes, he thinks we have three daughters.”