MANGALURU: My brother had nothing to do with the agitation and yet he became a victim of police firing, said a teary-eyed Mohammed Yahiya, brother of Abdul Jaleel who lost his life in Thursday’s clash between police and demonstrators.
Yahiya denied police commissioner P S Harsha’ statement that his brother was killed when police had to open fire on the people who attacked the Mangaluru North police station.
He said his brother was killed in Pandeshwar in front of his house and not in Bunder, as police claim.
“My brother had dropped his children Shifani and Sabil at this home safely and had come out of the house. It was then that the police opened fire and a bullet hit his eye,” he told The New Indian Express, adding that the situation was normal in Kandak until police resorted to firing.
Jaleel was later declared dead at Highland Hospital.42-year-old Jaleel, a resident of Kandak in Bunder, was a daily wage worker in Dakke, fish market area, and with his death, his wife and two children have no one to look after them as he was the sole bread-winner of the family, “Jaleel’s wife and two children are living in a rentedhouse. We urge the government to provide compensation and need justice,” he said.
Zameer, Jaleel’s friend said that police could have avoided resorting to open fire on the agitating mob.
“Some of the locals were engaged in a verbal spat with the cops who were present at the spot. However, due to police firing, a person, who had nothing to do with the agitation died.”
Meanwhile, a group of Jaleel’s friends have decided to help his bereaved family.
He was never associated with any organisation or party. There should be strict action against the cops who resorted to firing and we demand a high-level probe into the case, Yahiya added.