1. Ratan Lal, 53
The Delhi Police Head Constable reported for duty despite being sick. He was the sole breadwinner in his family.
He is survived by three children, a pregnant wife, and a sister who is going to be married in two months. “He was ill on Monday [February 24]. He had high fever. His wife asked him to take a leave of absence but he still went. What could he do, especially in that situation, and when there were such few officers?” said Deepak Bari, his brother.
2. Shahid, 22
A resident of New Mustafabad.
He was an auto driver who got married four months ago. Shahid was shot in the chest in Bhajanpura on February 24.
“He had left for work in the morning and that is all we know” said his brother Imran, 25, who does not know who shot Shahid. He is survived by a three-month pregnant wife.
3. Rahul Solanki, 26
He was shot in Babu Nagar when he had gone out to buy tea from a nearby street stall.
His father rushed him to a nursing home, which refused to treat him. They tried to get Rahul to GTB Hospital but the road was blocked. He was finally taken to Loni government hospital where he was declared brought dead.
4. Vinod Kumar, 51
The resident of Brahmpuri was stoned to death by a mob on the night of February 24 when he had stepped out with his son Monu. “Nobody came to help us,” said Monu, who suffered severe injuries.
5. Mohammed Fukran, 30
A resident of Kardam Puri. The victim’s brother, Mohammed Imran, had to visit multiple hospitals before finally finding him in GTB Hospital. Imran had wanted to take his brother to a private hospital but was informed that he had passed away. Fukran was not part of the protests, his brother said.
6. Mohammad Yusuf, 53
A carpenter from Mustafabad. He was lynched by a mob on February 24.
He was driving home with his son Suleman, 19, when they were stopped by a group of men on Gokalpuri Road.
“The mob shouted ‘Stop this mullah!’. They rushed towards us after identifying our religion by my father’s beard. They attacked us with iron rods and sticks. They torched our motorcycle,” said Suleman, who saw his father getting smashed in the head with a stone, before losing consciousness.
7 & 8. Amri Khan 28, and his brother Hashim Khan, 26
Residents of Old Mustafabad. Their bodies were pulled out of a drain in Ganga Vihar in Gokulpuri. Amri was a cab driver and the sole breadwinner in a family of eight.
“They had gone to visit their grandmother in Sundar Nagari. When they did not return by 8.30 p.m., and violence had broken out, we called Amri on his mobile. He informed us that they would be home in five minutes. When we called him later, his phone was switched off,” said Ballu Khan, father.
9. Anwar, 58
A resident of Shiv Vihar. He was gunned down and thrown into a fire on the morning of February 25, his brother Saleem Qassar said, adding: “All that remains of him is his foot.”
“My brother was shot twice and burnt alive in front of my eyes. He was pushed into a fire after being shot. When he tried to get up, he was shot again. Only his foot remains, which was picked up from the spot and ended up at the hospital. We identified it through the peculiar shape of his toenails and his cracked heels,” his brother said.
10. Nitin Paswan, 15
He stepped out from his home in Gokulpuri to buy noodles on February 25 but never returned. “I do not know what he was hit with on his head, whether it was a bullet or a stone, but he did not return.
Someone told me to check at GTB Hospital after we were unable to find him for over two days. He was brought to the hospital alive but died during treatment. He was about to be promoted to Class 9,” said his father Ram Kumar Paswan.
11. Mohammad Monis, 22
A dailywage labourer from Usmanpur. He was on his way to Samaypur Badli to work on his uncle's construction project.
He had assured his family that they had no reason to worry because “he would make sure he did not provoke the rioters”. “But they killed him anyway,” said his mother Jajma, who identified his charred body at GTB Hospital mortuary.
12. Mehtab, 22
A resident of Brijpuri. He was allegedly murdered by a group of men when he had gone out to buy milk on February 26.
His family claimed that a mob carrying sticks and wearing helmets, and chanting Jai Shri Ram, had taken him from near their house by force.
“We found his body in a nursing home. There were injury marks under his eye and on his head. His body was burned,” his sister Yasmin said, adding that Mehtab was “mentally unwell”.
13. Virbhan Singh, 50
A resident of Karawal Nagar who sold garments.
He was returning to his 14-year-old daughter and unwell wife on February 24 when he was shot at from a building.
“He was shot from the Muslim area. No one should protest by blocking any area. Here every street is blocked by them,” claimed his relative Rajat Sadh.
14. Ashfaqe Hassan, 22
He was attacked with swords in Old Mustafabad and died after being shot multiple times [when?]. He had gotten married on February 14.
“The doctors told us he suffered five bullet injuries, as well as injuries from a sword,” his aunt said. He was declared dead at GTB Hospital on February 26.
15. Mudassir Khan, 35
Worked as a paint-scraper. He stayed back at a relative’s house in Kardam Puri on February 24, the second day of the riots. He assured his family in Brijpuri that he would not step out of the house. He went out an hour later and was shot by a mob, his family said.
16. Aftab, 20
A Class 11 student who had come to Delhi from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, around a week before the riots erupted. His body was pulled out of a drain in north-east Delhi.
“Aftab’s body was burned. He had no hair on his head and his fingers were hanging by shreds of skin... his stomach was also bloated,” his brother Mohammad Qadir said, who spent several days trying to trace Aftab before finding his body at RML Hospital.
17. Aqib, 18
A dailywage worker who died due to severe head injuries inflicted by stone pelting.
“He was caught unawares by the violence,” his brother Wasim said. Aqib was brought to GTB Hospital where he was operated upon twice. He succumbed to injuries on March 2.
18. Mharoof Ali, 32
A resident of Bhajanpura. He used to run a store that was burned down. He is survived by his two children, aged nine and six. Waiting for his body to be released from LNJP Hospital, his brother Majid had said:
“We are in no hurry. After all, where will I take him? The area where we lived is still burning and our family members have left. Only my father is at home.”
19. Ayub Shabir, 60
Worked as a ragpicker. He died on February 28 while being taken to hospital after suffering head injuries, his son Salman [age?] said.
“I had cautioned my father against going out on February 28, but he said the situation was normal and that we cannot stay inside for long and not earn anything,” he recalled.
20. Ankit Sharma, 26
An Intelligence Bureau staffer. His body was recovered from a drain in Chand Bagh.
His father said that Ankit was caught by rioters and taken to a building, which belonged to AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, and murdered.
21. Babu Salmani, 33
An auto driver. He was returning home when he was attacked by a mob.
“He was hit on the head and brought to the hospital in critical condition... He fought bravely for his life but died on February 27. We cannot take his body back to our houses as the condition there is still very tense,” said his sister Nargis. He leaves behind three children and old parents.