‘He’s being framed’, says kin of Shaheen Bagh shooter

NEW DELHI: 25-year-old Kapil Gujjar, who fired two rounds in the air at Shaheen Bagh is a “simple boy” and is “not radical”, according to the family members.

As per reports published in News18, the family members of the accused claimed that he was tired of travelling extra distance as roads are blocked due to protests at Shaheen Bagh but not that disturbed to go to such an extent of shooting.

Very simple boy

According to family members, Kapil is a very simple boy. He wanted to become a reporter but dropped out of college and joined the dairy business run by the family.

The father of a one-year-old daughter only thinks about buffaloes and whose everyday business is limited to dairy.

He is being framed

The person who”never messes with anyone” and never had “radical thoughts” or the influence of any religious or political groups has left the family in shock because of the incident.

The family is unaware of the procurement of the weapon since neither he nor the family have any licensed or unlicensed arms and claimed that Kapil has been framed

Kapil’s brother said, “I think he has been framed. Some could have instigated him”. 

Friendly with Muslims

Kumar said the family has a “good reputation” and maintained good relations with all residents in the village. They even rented out houses to eight Muslim families.

“He has Muslim friends and they visit our home for festivals. He never had any hatred for Muslims or extremist thoughts for any religion. He didn’t have any association too with political groups. His everyday routine is limited to the dairy business,” Kapil’s brother said.

Shaheen Bagh shooting

On Thursday, a youth opened fire with a country-made .315 bore pistol when the Jamia students were to start their march from Jamia Millia Islamia to Rajghat. It left a journalism student, Shadab, with injuries on his arm.

Two days after Jamia incident Gujjar on Saturday fired two rounds in the air in Shaheen Bagh area — a key site where an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protest has been underway for over a month.

The police have detained the man.

In a video tweeted by a TV channel, the shooter could be heard chanting “Jai Shree Ram’ and saying: “Iss desh mein kisi ki nahin chalegi, sirf Hinduon ki chalegi. (In this country, no one but Hindus can have their say).”