Can I get a glass of water? Cold, Sheikh Mustafa, an 11-year-old Hyderabad boy, managed to squeak as he lay on a stretcher, his body completely charred and anointed with lotion all over. One can only imagine the pain and heat from the burns he must have felt to specifically ask for cold water, as he lay moribund.
Mustafa was set ablaze in a military area in Hyderabad and was found in a critical condition. He later succumbed to the burns. While he was in that miserable state surrounded by people, including the police, he clearly stated that two army personnel burned him.
The day he died, the army was quick to wash its hands of the murder of the child, saying it had “investigated” and the allegation of any army man being involved in the incident is “absolutely false.”
“Two army men called me in to their area. After slapping me, they poured kerosene on me and set me on fire”, Mustafa said in his dying declaration.
The question everyone is asking is: Why would Mustafa, at death’s door and not in a condition to even know where he is, let alone make up stories, name the army? Can it be a figment of his imagination? No!
The incident comes in the backdrop of an ongoing dispute between the army and the residents of adjoining areas over the usage of a road passing through the military area. Locals allege that it is routine for army personnel to harass residents and physically assault them.
The heartbreaking killing has horrified the city and baffled its police.
While a Special Investigation Team comprising investigators and forensic experts analyzes the nature and pattern of burn injuries, theories of suicide and the role of the madrassa where Mustafa studied are already doing the rounds. A case of murder has been registered based on the dying declaration of the child.
If Mustafa was indeed murdered, what was the motive? Was he molested and then burned to remove any evidence? And if he wanted to commit suicide, why did he enter the restricted area inside the military garrison — whose access control lies with the army — and then set himself ablaze? The possibility of an accidental fire seems remote because then someone would have tried to save him. These are some questions that the investigators would find difficult to answer.
While the Hyderabad police claimed to have a breakthrough on Sunday, they have refused to bring anything to light, saying it could thwart investigation process. We can only hope Mustafa gets justice and his murderers — no matter how powerful and influential — are brought to book.
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