As the death toll in Delhi’s violence has reached 42, there are 25 bereaved families who have yet to receive the bodies of their family members. Family members claim hospitals are demanding money from them and that they have been waiting for the lifeless corpses for the past 3-4 days.
“They are not returning the bodies and asking us to pay Rs 4,000 ($55.40) to claim them,” said a riot victim’s relative, who stood waiting outside Delhi’s Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.
He said hospitals are asking for money using the pretext of “videographing the body”. “We haven’t heard of hospital authorities’ videographing a body before. We have tried to contact police regarding this, but no one answers our call,” said the family member, who did not wish to be named.
Another family said that they have been waiting for the body of their relative since 26 February. “No one is here to listen to our demands. We have already lost our family member, now at least return their bodies to us,” said Hamid, a bereaved relative of a riot victim.
Forty-two people have been killed and 250 were injured in the three days of violence in Delhi which began on 23 February. Disturbing tales of mobs targeting the houses, businesses and places of worship of Muslims have emerged.
Another family member present at GTB hospital said that he has been waiting for the body of his nephew, who was burned to death after his hands and legs were cut during the evening on 24 February. “Nearly 30-40 people are here to claim the bodies of their loved ones. No one is here to listen to us,” the deceased’s uncle said.
Meanwhile, there are bodies which haven't been identified yet, and families who are still looking for missing relatives.
A fresh wave of violence hit Delhi a day ahead of United States President Donald Trump’s visit to India on 24 February. What began as a clash between pro- and anti-citizenship act groups descended into internecine mob violence against religious groups.
While shoot-on-sight orders were issued to police officials, paramilitary forces were called in to control the situation and curfews were imposed. The epicentre of these riots remained Northeast Delhi.
Student Unions, opposition parties and civil rights groups have emerged as a major force behind anti-CAA protests. They accuse the Act of being discriminator, as it excludes Muslims from being granted India citizenship. They say the new law violates the secular principles of the constitution.
However, the government has maintained in Parliament that no Indian citizens, irrespective of their religion, would lose citizenship under this new law as it seeks to grant citizenship, not take it away.
