For the family of Mohammad Jumman (35), an e-rickshaw driver from Shastri Park in northeast Delhi, Monday night was one of agonising uncertainty. His phone location had last shown him stuck in traffic near Lal Qila, after which all contact was lost.
Early Tuesday morning, the family reached the LNJP mortuary, their emotions swinging helplessly between hope and despair. His brother Chand showed TOI a screenshot on his phone of Jumman’s last-traced location, frozen amid heavy traffic. Beside him, their uncle Idris clutched a photograph of Jumman on his phone, waiting anxiously for confirmation of what they feared but refused to believe.
The family left the hospital premises with tear-stained eyes, still holding to a faint hope that there had been some mistake. Jumman’s 10-year-old son clung tightly to his mother’s finger, trying to console her. A few hours later, their worst fears were confirmed: the body had been identified as Jumman’s. The news shattered whatever strength they had been holding onto, said Idris.
Jumman, the family’s sole breadwinner, was the reason his three children, a son and two daughters, were able to attend school, studying in classes 5 to 7. His wife Tanuja has been specially-abled since birth and is unable to walk properly due to a deformity in one of her legs. For years, Tanuja had depended on Jumman for every small need. Now, she is left grappling with the fragile conditions of the household.
Also read: A family dinner, a birthday, a friendly catch-up — stories of lives shattered near Red FortIdris recalled the last time the family spoke to him, his voice breaking. “He had spoken to his wife, who asked him if he would be having lunch at home. He told her that he would be coming home for dinner. He never came.”