We wanted to bring our son’s body home but the police and the Deputy Commissioner said it could lead to more violence. I did not want sorrow in another home. We took his body from the hospital to the burial ground,” says the mother of 14-year-old Junaid Pasha who was among the three people killed in communal violence in Mysore on June 2.

With his father Afzal Pasha frequently ill and three sisters to support, Junaid, who earned Rs 50 per day as a mechanic, was almost the main breadwinner of a family that lives in a tiny one-room house in Shanthinagar — a poor locality in Mysore. The day violence broke out over the alleged desecration of an under-construction mosque, Junaid had been sent out by his parents to place flowers and sandalwood at the grave of his uncle who died the previous week. “He went to the burial ground and never returned home,” says his mother.

That morning, peace in the locality had been shattered. The police were chasing stone throwing mobs with a flurry of tear gas and bullets. According to his parents and locals, Junaid, who was a witness to the clash, took a bullet and died soon after. The police, however, have been insisting that the death occurred due to stabbing with an iron rod. Two post-mortems have been conducted and the conclusion is that Junaid did not die due to police firing.

The violence stemming from the alleged desecration of the mosque has been mindless in tearing families apart.

... contd.