Jamia shooter was 'obedient' and '1,000% a minor', claims teacher; says accused was 'desperate' to be famous

Since a protesting student was injured in the shooting at Jamia Milia Islamia in Delhi, a row over the age of the shooter has ensued. Soon after the firing, ANI released the shooter’s 10th grade CBSE mark sheet that indicated he was a minor. Days after that, an Election Commission document went viral on social media to suggest the shooter is actually an adult. [caption id=“attachment_7984801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The shooter at the Jamia Millia Islamia university on Thursday. PTI[/caption] Narendra Sharma, in whose class the shooter was from 2013 to 2018, said the ANI mark sheet is accurate. “His birth date is 8 April 2002,” he said. “He is a minor, 1,000 percent. Do not keep repeating the question.” Narendra, however, is furious with ANI. “They blackened the names of the shooter and his parents, but exposed the name of our school,” he said. “His parents are innocent, gullible people. They gave ANI reporters the mark sheet when they landed at their doorstep.” Narendra claimed he has sent ANI a legal notice for defamation. But he refused to share its copy. On Thursday afternoon, 30 January 2020, students at Jamia Milia University began a march towards Rajghat, where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated. The day marked the 72nd anniversary of his assassination. “At around 1.30 pm, while the gathering was moving, one person suddenly came out of it brandishing a small firearm like object and within a split second, before anyone could assess or react to what he was doing, the man suddenly fired towards the marching students,” the Delhi Police said in a statement. “The police staff immediately rushed towards the person and overpowered him.” Back home in the small town of Jewar in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddha Nagar district, the shooter’s parents, who were attending a wedding, thought he was in school. Jewar is merely 70 kilometres from Delhi. The residents around his home, which is about 300 metres away from a police check post in a narrow lane, are tightlipped. “We do not know much about him,” said an old man standing at a sweet shop right opposite his home. Two youngsters quickly pointed to his house upon asked for his address. But ran away when this reporter asked them if they knew him. Sandesh Kaushik, watching five men play cards on the corner of a road, agreed to talk. “You are from Mumbai, you said,” he revealed the reason why he decided to engage. “I like that city.” Also Read:  Jamia shooter’s age row: CBSE certificate shows him as ‘minor’, EC document shows he’s registered voter since April 2019 Kaushik is a family friend of the shooter’s mother. “We both belong to the same village in Mathura,” he said. “I know them well. In the morning, I was consoling his grandfather who could not stop crying. He was wondering how the family would pay for the bail or the lawyer’s fees.” In a small house of three rooms, they live in a joint family, said Kaushik. “His mother is a private school teacher, and father runs a small shop selling biscuits and stuff,” he said. “We are all shocked and saddened that he has done that.” Watching Kaushik open up to this reporter, a passerby joined the conversation requesting anonymity. “He used to attend Bajrang Dal camps,” he said. “The camps were really infrequent. But 8-10 kids with him used to attend.” This reporter tried to meet those youngsters but none of them came forward. “Nobody wants to be linked with him,” said the man. However, Narendra said he met the Crime Branch officials on 3 February, who told him the shooter was acting on his own and had no affiliation with any organisation. “Bhoot sawaar hoga limelight mein aane ka (He was desperate to be famous),” said Narendra. His Facebook page, which has since been taken down, said he is a member of Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which is part of the larger Sangh Parivar under the RSS – ideological parent of the ruling BJP. A Dainik Jagran report from November 2018 named him as one of the activists that encircled the Kotwali in Jewar over vandalisation of idols in a temple of that area. That protest was led by Deepak Sharma, who had allegedly instigated Indian students against Afghan students at a university, after which an FIR was filed against him. He has been associated with Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The Jamia shooter had uploaded a photograph with him on Facebook. Narendra said the Crime Branch officials told him the Facebook profile, which the shooter started in 2018, was dormant most of the time. “He uploaded several posts on the day he committed the crime though,” he said. Two of those posts read, “Azaadi de raha hoon” (Will give you freedom) and “Shaheen Bagh, Khel Khatam” (Shaheen Bagh, game over) referring to the anti-CAA and anti-NRC protests happening in Delhi. The rest of the photos have him with a gun or a sword. The radicalisation has come as a surprise to Narendra, for the shooter was a regular in his class. “He was an obedient student, never behaved arrogantly with his classmates or teachers,” he said. “He was disciplined but average. Would get around 50-55 percent marks. He had an interest in wrestling. A few times he had participated as a wrestler in a fair." The inspectors at the police check posts near his house said this is a peaceful town, where people live harmoniously. There has not been any communal tension. But soon after the shooter was caught in Delhi, his neighbours in Jewar reportedly gathered around his house and chanted slogans in his support. The shooter has a younger brother and a sister. Kaushik said they are suffering because of his actions. “The family is straight as an arrow,” he said. “His siblings have to be embarrassed because of what he did. If he had studied hard and found a job, he could have helped his struggling family. The family is in shock.” He is supposed to have been appearing for Class 12 board exams beginning 24 February. He is currently in police custody. “The family hopes he would be able to appear for the exams,” said Kaushik. “They met him in police custody and gave him his books.”