Alam Miya Khan, 65, refused to go for his son’s burial to Hyderabad. His son, Mohammad Hanif Khan, was killed in the alleged police encounter in Telangana on Tuesday.
Khan’s eldest son, Mehboob, is a constable in Gujarat Police. Hanif, allegedly used to arrange logistics and harboured Vikaruddin in Ahmedabad whenever the Andhra Pradesh Police got hot on his trail.
Hanif left home in 2003 when he 20 years old and never returned to Gujarat. His father says he gave up on him. Hanif’s mother and his youngest brother, Shafiq, went to Hyderabad for Hanif’s burial.
A visibly disturbed Alam Miya says, “Do you believe this theory? That the five terrorists wanted to relieve themselves at the same time. They have been killed in a fake encounter”.
He said the police tried to paint him both as a robber and terrorist. “He can either be a robber or a terrorist who wanted to kill Modi, not both,” he added. “He was not a terrorist out to kill Modi”.
Hanif grew up in the chawls of Bapunagar and practised Unani for three years before moving to Hyderabad, earning him the nickname, “Doctor”. Alam Miya had opened a small clinic for Hanif in Bapunagar at Morari Chowk. Hanif and his brothers studied at Jeevan Sadhna, a small school in Bapunagar.
“My sons grew up in the chawls of Bapunagar, but never picked up bad habits. Hanif was bright in studies, so I advised him to learn Unani,” a teary-eyed Alam said. However, in Bapunagar, Hanif is regarded as a local hoodlum and a bootlegger.
Everything changed after Hanif got married to a Telugu Muslim girl and migrated to Hyderabad 12 years ago, Alam said. “She (does not name her) pushed him to migrate to Hyderabad, her hometown. He told us he will practice Unani there. We cut off from him and he never bothered about us,” said Alam.
Indian Express
