Another riot survivor to contest election

Another survivor of the 2002 post-Godhra communal riots will contest in the general election. Imtiyazkhan Pathan, 42, is a key witness in the Gulbarg Society massacre case as well in the case stemming from the complaint filed by Zakia Jafri, alleging a larger conspiracy. Jafri is the wife of

Ehsan Jafri

, a former Congress MP, who was killed in the massacre.


Pathan has filed his nomination on an Apna Desh party ticket to fight for the Kheda

Lok Sabha

constituency. He lives in Ahmedabad, but is originally from

Nadiad

in Central

Gujarat

. He has two children, a 17-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter. He has an air-conditioner maintenance shop and also doubles up as an electrician.

"My grandfather came from Uttar Pradesh and settled in Nadiad. My father was born in Nadiad and dozens of his relatives still live there," Pathan said. "That is why I decided to contest for the Kheda seat." He wanted to contest in the 2017 assembly election from Bapunagar in eastern Ahmedabad, but the returning officer did not accept his form because he was late. In Kheda, he is pitted against Devusinh Chauhan of the BJP and

Bimal Shah

of the Congress.

"It has been 17 years since the Gulbarg massacre occurred, yet justice has not been delivered," Pathan said. "Such horrors should not happen to any community. Fighting cases in courts is not the same as representing our agony in the Parliament." Pathan lost ten members of his family in the Gulbarg Society killings on February 28, 2002.

Incidentally, Pathan’s elder brother, Firozkhan Pathan, is also contesting in the 2019 general election. He is fighting as an independent candidate for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat.