In hour of grief, Basheer’s family appeals for peace

MANGALURU: Abdul Basheer (47), who was brutally attacked in an act of revenge for Bajrang Dal activist Deepak Rao’s murder, succumbed to injuries at a private hospital here on Sunday morning. Despite this great loss, Basheer’s grief-stricken family and friends did everything to ensure that the death does not trigger violence in the communally charged Mangaluru and other parts of coastal Karnataka.

As the news of Basheer’s death was made public around 9 am, the fear of violence in the region was palpable. Anxious people were seen glued to their television sets while many decided to cancel their weekend outings and remain indoors.

However, thanks to Basheer’s family and hundreds of people gathered at AJ Hospital, peace reigned. Not only did the family decide not to take out a procession from the hospital to their house in Akash Bhavan, they also appealed to people not to give in to any kind of provocation, resort to violence or even hold protests over the death. The family members categorically told politicians and organisations not to politicise Basheer’s death. It was Basheer’s brother Hakeem who led from the front, cooling frayed nerves. He requested people to pray for the departed soul.

The crowd at the hospital kept getting bigger with every passing minute and there were chances of violence breaking out in case a procession was taken. The police were aware of this, given past incidents. Just four days ago, they had moved the murdered Bajrang Dal activist Deepak Rao’s body to his house in Katipalla despite opposition from people.  

Sources in the police department hailed the gesture of Basheer’s family in ensuring that things did not go out of control.

CM calls on bereaved families

Mangaluru: Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday visited the residences of Deepak Rao and Abdul Basheer and offered his condolences to the families. During his visit to Deepak’s house in Katipalla near Suratkal,  he instructed Deputy Commissioner S Sasikanth Senthil to provide a job to Deepak’s younger brother who is hearing and speech impaired. Later, he visited Basheer’s house in Mangaluru.