Family demands martyrdom and jobs for siblings after Chandan Gupta was killed in communal clashes in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj.
Kasganj: Clutching the flag that was used to wrap her son’s body, Sangeeta Gupta refused to believe that he is no more. Chandan Gupta, 22, was killed in a firing Friday in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh.
The last she spoke to her son was before he left for the Republic Day rally that his friends had organised. He had painted a flag on his face, put a tricolour on his bike and had asked her to not call him until the rally was over.
“I stopped him before he left and asked him to fetch milk. I was making his favourite kheer. He got me milk and asked me not to call him, as he would be busy. He never returned,” she said while crying.
Chandan Gupta, a final year B. Com student was also associated with an NGO, Sankalp Foundation, and often participated in activities including blood donation camps, blanket distribution for the poor and tree plantation drives.
“Sara din netagiri karta tha (He would be involved in political activities all the time),” she said. “He told me he would become a big politician one day. Most of his time he spent on social work. Chandan was such a patriot, that he would stand the moment he heard the national anthem, no matter where and asked us to stand too and sing along,” she added.
Sangeeta Gupta now demands the status of a martyr for her son. “If my son is not given the status of a martyr, I am going to burn down the place that plays the national anthem. He died for the nation. He died while chanting Vande Mataram and Hindustan Zindabad. Does he not even deserve that much?” she said. “He attended all political meetings, did whatever he could as a volunteer. He also spent Rs 5 lakh recently for a Bhandara at the Sarnath temple built in the name of our CM Yogi Adityanath, is it not his responsibility to do something for my son in return?” she added.
Chandan Gupta’s aunt Preeti Gupta added that along with compensation, the government should also ensure jobs for his siblings. “Chandan has an elder brother and a younger sister, both of whom should be given government jobs. Sangeeta has lost a young son, which can never be compensated, but at least the government should do their bit to help the family and lessen their grief,” she said.