Julekha Bibi and Faizuddin Rehman with a picture of their son at their home in Mohammedpur. Picture by Nantu Dey

Raiganj, Nov. 25: A year after Hasibur Rehman was gunned down by terrorists at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, his parents have not touched a single rupee of the Rs 15 lakh compensation they have received so far.

“The money is tainted with my innocent son’s blood. As soon as one of my other two sons get a job in the railways as was promised, we will return the money to the Maharashtra government. We will ask them to distribute it among the next of kin of the security men killed during the battle with the terrorists. We do not want to touch the money,” said Julekha Bibi, Hasibur’s mother.

At their home this morning in Mohammedpur near Dalkhola, about 50km from here, this morning, Hasibur’s father Faizuddin Rehman Sheikh said his family of two sons and six daughters eked out a living by farming their three bighas of land. Hasibur was the youngest and was 18 when he died.

“He had travelled all the way to Mumbai to work as a mason in order to ease our financial constraints. We had implored with him not to go so far, but he had convinced us that some extra money would help. So finally I gave in,” the father said.

Hasibur was not alone when he went to Mumbai. Two other youths from the village, Akbar Hossain and Kudrat Ali, had accompanied him. Faizuddin’s son had managed to send him Rs 3,000 in the three months that he had been there. “I had asked him to come home for Id and regret it now,” Faizuddin said.

While Hasibur was waiting for the train home with his luggage at the station, he was gunned down by Ajmal Kasab and his accomplice in the terror act Abu Ismail.

Faizuddin said after his son’s last rites in Mumbai, the family got Rs 5 lakh from the Maharashtra government and Rs 10 lakh from the Indian Railways. They are yet to receive Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and Rs 3 lakh from the home ministry. The family has also submitted an application for a job promised by the railways to any of the two other sons of Faizuddin.

“Till we live, we will not touch the money. If we do, even to buy food, it will remind us that we are filling our stomach at the cost of our son’s death. I have told my sons that after both of us pass away, they can use the money. But if one of my sons gets the railway job we will return the money to be distributed to the relatives of those policemen and soldiers who were killed fighting with our son’s murderer,” the father said.

Hasibur’s friend Kudrat Ali has returned to Mumbai since. “I cannot forget those moments. We were waiting to board the Kurla-Patna Express. Hasibur was guarding our luggage when we heard the shots. We were at the ticket counter. We ran right in front of one of the terrorists who was firing randomly at passengers. Akbar and myself managed to take cover behind a pillar, but Hasibur was mowed down, shot through the head. He died instantly,” Kudrat said over the cellphone from Mumbai.

Hasibur’s brother Matibur said after the family had received a letter from the railways last year to apply for a job, he had sent in his papers. “I have studied till Class VIII. In December we received the letter from the railways and I applied for the job but there has been no response. I and my brother fully stand by our parents’ decision,” he said.

Matibur recounted how last year at this time on this day, the family had been eagerly waiting for Id. “Hasibur had called to say that he had shopped for us. Id will never be the same again.”