‘Culprits must pay for killing my son’

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Nina Bhasin holds on to a photograph of her slain son Paras

I was sitting right here and Paras was lying with his father on the bed in this room. He was a bit tense. He told me that we would have to hire a lawyer soon to get his girlfriend to stay with us as he was married to her now. I hugged him and assured him of a happier future, and that was when he went out of the room to attend a call but never came back.

Paras was the eldest child in the extended family. He was deeply loved by all and was the apple of everyone’s eye, be it his grandparents, uncles or aunts. His presence alone in the family cheered up the atmosphere. Paras approached things with a positive attitude. He was praised by people who he came across for his helpful and jolly nature. Why don’t you have a look at his Facebook profile, which will tell you how many friends he had? In fact, the reason that you see people gathering at our house or even for the candlelight march in such large numbers is proof of his friendly attitude towards other people.
He had bought a new bed and a LCD TV for his room. He was so excited and happy about his marriage. Why would he ever commit suicide? The only mistake he did was he fell in love with a girl madly. The girl was like a daughter to me, I don’t blame her but I want justice. I want his murderers to be punished. My son will never come back now but even if the culprits escape in this world, they will have to pay for what they have done to my son in the court of the Lord. I put this question across to all: Why would my child travel so far to commit suicide if he was tense? Wouldn’t he have taken an easier route and committed suicide on the railway tracks nearer to the house, if at all he wanted to?
I am heartbroken; I cannot believe he is no more. At one moment, I feel he is still with us, at another, I am struck with the reality, which breaks my heart, and I burst into tears.
We never stopped him from doing anything. He came up to us one day and said, “I want to open a tattoo shop” and we did not refuse. After a few days, he told us that he wants to earn more to match the standards of the girl’s family and we again supported him in the construction line.
I, in my wildest dreams, did not imagine that the family for which he was changing his ways could take a step so extreme. They cut my son into pieces… which human being would do something as cruel as this? Nobody deserved a death like that. Did he commit some heinous crime? Was he a boy of bad character?
Whatever he earned, he handed over to the girl and we never said a word. For me, my son’s happiness mattered more than anything in this world. The girl used to come to our house in the morning, sit with us till evening, talk to his grandparents for hours, helped me in the kitchen. She was a part of the family and the sole aim on Paras’s mind was to keep her happy.
Paras had bought this pair of jeans just before he died but he never got a chance to wear it. He was so fond of wearing branded clothes and posing in front of the mirror that even family members used to tease him to try for modelling. His favourite dish was the rajma-chawal I would make. For his last birthday, he went to Shimla to celebrate it with his friends and I was happy because he was happy. He was the only earning member of the family. What will we do without him? I would never wish such a fate even for my enemy.
The girl’s birthday falls on 1 October and he had asked me to get a gold ring made for her. I had secretly secured a diamond ring for our daughter-in-law. I could not wait to give it to her.
The girl’s parents are talking about the difference in status. We are not filthy rich but also not so poor that we could not afford to keep her happy. It’s just that we do not believe in flaunting wealth. There’s a big difference in money being the focus of all conversation and wealth being understated.
I will not give up my fight for justice. It is my son today; it could be some other boy tomorrow. His fault was that he was making every possible effort to bring her into his life and keep her happy. People will never understand what falling in love is like and cases like these will continue to happen in future.
Love is not a crime and the punishment that he has faced is horrible. But I believe that if my son’s love is true, God will do justice to him.