NEW DELHI: "I don't know who killed my son," said a teary-eyed Mohammad Yasir, 70, sitting outside his house in Old Mustafabad on Monday.
Yasir's 35-year-old son Muddasir Khan was shot and killed after he was caught between two mobs resorting to violence at Kardampuri near Maujpur last week.
Muddasir is survived by eight daughters, the youngest among whom is just 18 days old, said his family members.
"He left home on the morning of February 24 for a relative's place in Kardampuri (Maujpur). As the violence started, he was warned that he stay back till the situation was normal," said Muddasir's nephew Arbaaz.
Muddasir, who ran a plastic scrap business in Ghaziabad's Tronica City (Loni), paid heed to the concerns of his family members and did not step out to return to his home.
The next day, on February 25, he told his father that he was fine and was trying to assess the situation. He then stepped out of his relatives' house in Maujpur and was shot.
"People told me he was caught between two violent groups resorting to heavy stone-pelting. Somebody among them fired and Muddasir was shot along with some other persons," Yasir said.
Muddasir's family learnt from their relatives in Kardampuri that he was shot and taken to hospital.
"Hardly an hour before he was shot, he had talked to his wife who also warned him not to take the risk of coming home as mobs were resorting to violence," Arbaaz said.
Muddasir's body was received by the family after post mortem examination at GTB hospital mortuary on February 27.
A large number of locals attended the burial ceremony, he said. Muddasir is survived by eight daughters, the eldest aged 14 years and the youngest just 18 days old.
His wife Imrana is observing four-month-long mourning and is in bad shape, trying to come to terms with the tragedy, the nephew said.