A woman weeps after her shop was sealed

New Delhi, Nov. 12: As the government desperately racks its brains to come up with a plan to save traders hit by the sealing drive, the families of three dead schoolboys are waiting for justice.

Bashir, 7, Ashraf, 14, and Qasim, 17, were killed in police firing as traders clashed with cops over sealing in Seelampur. A fourth man also killed in the firing could not be identified and was buried by the police. That was on September 20.

Fifty days and numerous bandhs later, the government has filed applications galore before the Supreme Court in an attempt to stop the court-ordered sealing of shops in residential areas and provide relief to traders.

Schools have been closed amid threat of violence, and have reopened.

The office of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, sealed on Wednesday, was de-sealed the next day to give officials 15 days to collect papers and officially vacate the premises.

“These are all reversible events. On the deaths of the children, the government has found no time for anything,” says Shahida Bano, whose youngest son, Ashraf, was returning home from an errand when he was hit by a bullet.

No one in Sheila Dikshit’s government has bothered to visit Seelampur’s families that lost their sons. Dikshit had promised to come herself but the only condolences from the government, the families say, have been on television.

In contrast, several MLAs have resigned to protest the sealing drive against the traders.

“It’s simple, we’re poor Muslims. The traders are important votebanks and have money. They get the focus, while we... no one cares,” says Mohammed Wasim, chachajaan to Qasim, a madarsa student who fell metres away from Ashraf.

As he talks, the television in the one-room house with flaking walls plays out news of fresh plans by the Centre to go to court against the sealing drive.

An inquiry was ordered by the Delhi government into the firing, to try and pinpoint responsibility for the deaths of boys on their way home.

“We haven’t really had much time to investigate the matter because of the sealing. Once things settle down on this front, we will investigate the matter in greater detail,” says assistant commissioner of police S.S. Cheema.

Cheema was the top policeman in Seelampur at the time of the firing. According to eyewitnesses, he was at the spot when the firing was on though no one has named him as the official who “ordered” it.

Most of the top police officials at Seelampur, including Cheema, have been transferred out as a “precautionary measure” for their safety.