‘I won’t spare my son’s killers’

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‘I won’t spare my son’s killers’
It’s been four-and-a-half years since my son Adnan was murdered. Even as our family was coping with the trauma of losing young Adnan, we suffered another jolt in January this year, when we witnessed the four men, who killed my son, walk away scot-free. The court had to let them go because the police failed to find enough evidence to nail them.
We are a simple business family. We have nothing to do with criminals, nor do we have any enemies, which is why it was all the more shocking when we received a call about Adnan’s body being found in Navi Mumbai on that fateful day — August 18, 2007.
My son had been kidnapped by his friends for ransom, just the day before. It was hard for us to believe that something as cruel as this could have happened to him. We simply could not accept it.
The women were beating their heads with their hands and the men were just stunned. Our family has seen many ups and downs like all families, but this was by far the most tragic. It took us months to even start accepting that Adnan was no longer with us. Our relatives and friends tried their best to help us recover from the shock of losing Adnan, but for a long time, they were trying in vain.
We are a religious family and offer prayers every day. How could something like this have happened to god-fearing people like us? Where did we fall short? Where was God when our son Adnan was killed? These questions plagued me all the time, and I really had no answers.
Fraught with Adnan’s memories, our sole focus shifted to punishing his killers. It was the only thing we had to look forward to. We told the police what we knew, we helped them in every possible way. We had faith that justice would be served and the murderers would be punished. It hurts me a great deal to say this, but we were naïve.
We had been waiting for January 31, to hear the verdict go against the men who ruined our lives and took away our son. But we got the shock of our lives when all the four, who were accused of the murder, were acquitted because of lack of evidence. We were actually thinking that all of them would be awarded capital punishment. Our lawyers had told us that we had a watertight case, but we were still denied justice.
This has changed my perception about our judiciary. As a businessman, I have to travel across the world and I have seen that in places like Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, a person thinks a thousand times before committing a crime. Do you know that there is an open field in Riyadh where they actually make an announcement before beheading a murder convict in full public view as per Sharia law? That is how strict the judicial system is in other countries. But it seems ours has been found wanting.
I don’t want my two other children to face problems here. I cannot let my children settle down in a place where the accused are set free and murderers and terrorists get royal treatment inside jails.
I have told them both to study hard, achieve something, and leave India. They must move out of the country and settle somewhere else. I don’t want them to live here and suffer because of some untoward incident.
This whole incident has taught us many things the hard way. I have told them not to stay out late in the evening and not to make any friends on the Internet. I have given them strict instructions against divulging details related to our family or our business, even to their friends.
We have stopped celebrating Adnan’s birthday on September 21. But we pray on that day. We also donate to charity on his birthday. In fact, we are going to donate a room for a school so that the blessings reach Adnan.
I feel not a single ounce of mercy for my son’s murderers. They should be hanged for what they did. All I can say is that they are very, very lucky to be acquitted. But I’m sure that nothing good will happen to them and they will have terrible lives and meet cruel deaths — all of them. Even if the Bombay high court and Supreme Court denies us justice, I believe in the impartial court of the Almighty. If all else fails, I know Adnan will definitely get justice in that court.
The acquittal that my son’s killers got will only set a precedent for criminals in future. These murderers should be hanged and their bodies paraded on the streets so that people think a hundred times before taking a life.
Since I am the man in the family, I can’t show my emotions in front of the others. But inside, I am completely broken. The thought of getting justice for Adnan is all that keeps me going. We are now seeking justice desperately. After the sessions court acquitted those murderers, we are going to challenge the verdict in the high court. Hopefully, we shall get justice for our son someday.