Pratapgarh: The daughter of Zaffar Khan, who was lynched on Friday for stopping municipal council employees photographing of women defecating in the open said.
“I followed my father on Friday morning. He fell down before me, and died in front of my eyes.”
Sabira, 17 and residents of Mehtab Shah Kutchi Basti said on Saturday, that they are the witness of the assault.
They also said that they were frequently facing the harassment from the accused over the issue of open defecation.
Sabira said the officials usually come around 6 am”, chase women defecating in open, by “scaring us”, “kicking our water mugs” and “taking our photographs”.
Speaking to Indian Express she said this time the officials shoved the women who raised an alarm, which led Zafar to intervene.
Sabira said. “He ran out when the women shouted and I followed him. My father tried to reason with the government employees, about 5-6 of them, and two women who were related to one of them. He told them not to click photographs but they first hit him in his stomach, then his head, and then his forehead,” she said. “The men were kicking and punching him. He was all alone. That’s when he fell on the ground. Hearing the commotion, our neighbours came to mediate but my father just lay there and cried in pain. He died there.”
One of the neighbour said. “Kamal, one of the government employees, shouted that he was bleeding but it was Zafar’s blood on his clothes.”
Holding a stone with red marks, she said, “It is Zafar’s blood but who cares about evidence.”
The tentative post-mortem report has found that Zafar died due to cardio-respiratory failure. Zafar’s wife, Rashida, questioned that assessment she said. “He was healthy. Why would he have a heart attack? The Parishad hated him as he cared for people of the basti and no one from the police or district administration has met us since his death.”
Pratapgarh SP Shivraj Meena said no arrests have been made in case yet. “We will decide only once the final report is out,” he said.