Click to play videoAhemdabad: Over the last seven years Aslam Mansuri's tears have dried out. But the pain remains. Five members of his family will be declared dead on February 28.
These members include his daughter five-year-old Shaina, 11-year-old Ayesha and 13-year-old Shabnam, his brother Shakil and grandmother Sonaben.
On February 28, communal riots ripped through Gujarat following the burning of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra. The death toll rose to 952. But seven years later, those who went missing in the riots, will now be presumed dead.
Forty-six-year old Aslam says he has run out of places to search. “Where will I look for them now,” questions Aslam Mansuri.
The official death toll in the post Godhra communal riots will rise from 952 to 1180. After the SIT investigation team took over, the death toll in key cases like Naroda Patiya, Naroda Gaam and Gulbarg Society, too, have increased
In Godhra, the Dadi family is still waiting for news about two family members, Qasam, Mohammad and Quber Dadi. They were caught in the rioting at Godamba Taluka near Godhra and have never been found
“We were waiting to hear from them. Even the government has not been able to help us,” says Rafiq Dadi.
Azhar Modi's story inspired the film Parzania. Azhar was 13 and stayed at the Gulbarg Society when it was attacked by a mob. He has not been seen since that day. On Saturday Azhar will be presumed dead or murdered.
Thirty-nine persons were reported missing at the Gulbarg Society alone. And while from now on, they will be declared dead, for family members of those missing persons, the hope to find them alive still live.
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