Families of cop, local killed in violence inconsolable

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I could not believe the news. He is not a beat constable so we did not even expect that he would be out and on duty during the clashes.

MANISH KUMAR,

Ratan Lal’s nephew

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I immediately rushed to GTB Hospital.when I came here, I was told that he had died. How do I tell his wife? How do I tell my parents?

MOHD. IMRAAN,

Mohd. Furkaan’s brother

NEW DELHI: On hearing of his death on the news, the relatives of head constable Ratan Lal rushed to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. “I was at work when I got a call from a friend who called to check whether the news was true. I had no idea. I just rushed to the hospital. All of us came here and learned of his death,” Manish Kumar, Ratan Lal’s nephew, said.

“I could not believe the news. He is not a beat constable so we did not even expect that he would be out and on duty during the clashes,” he said.

He died of a severe head injury on Monday evening.

He is survived by three children—two girls aged 12 and 15, and a 7-year-old son—according to his relatives at the hospital. They were informed that all the paperwork for the autopsy and the release of the body will be done in the morning.

Ratan Lal had been in the force for nearly 20 years, according to his nephew. “His father had passed away about seven months ago and his mother lives in their village in Rajasthan. She is yet to be informed. There was a wedding in the family and his aunt— his mother’s sister—had come to Delhi. She had met him just yesterday,” another family member said.

Mohd. Furkaan, 32, a civilian, succumbed to a bullet injury. He used to make handcrafted boxes for wedding invitations. A resident of Kardampuri, he lived with his wife and two children—a 4-year-old daughter and a 2.5-year-old son. “I got a call from one of the people living in the area that my brother had been shot. I immediately rushed to GTB Hospital. When I came here I was told that he had died. How do I tell his wife? How do I tell my parents?” his older brother Mohd. Imraan said.

On learning about the clashes the family decided to stay home. “I got my children and his daughter back from school at 12.30pm instead of 2.30pm because we heard of the clashes. I met him for lunch. We decided not to send the children for their tuition classes. But he must have stepped out to get something from the shops when he was shot,” Imraan said.