MAHENDRANAGAR, Aug 26: On Friday at around 3 pm, Sunny Khuna and his friend Umesh Khuna of Bhimdatta Municipality-18 in Kanchanpur went to meet their building contractor to collect their wages. On the way, the two talked about what they wanted to do with the money. Sunny shared his desire to give his sisters a treat during the upcoming festival of Rakshyabandhan .

The contractor was not at home. So they returned home through the bazaar. When they reached Traffic Chowk, a group of eight to 10 police personnel, who were on the roof of a nearby house, scolded them, telling them to run away. But even as they ran, a policeman opened fire, killing Sunny.

“Police shouted at us and accused us of throwing stones at them. Sunny told them that we were not protestors and we didn't do it,” said Umesh, who witnessed the while incident. “He begged the police not to harm us. But they opened fire anyway, hitting Sunny in the chest. I fled in terror while Sunny collapsed.”

Umesh and Sunny worked together as masons and they were very close friends, until that bullet put an end to the friendship.

Sunny's father Bir Bahadur confirmed that Sunny had left home to collect his wages so that he could buy some sweets for Rakshyabandhan, the Hindu festival that celebrate the bond between brothers and sisters.

“My son left the house to collected the wages of his hard work. Only his lifeless body returned,” Bir Bahadur lamented. “Had the government investigated the Nirmala Pant case properly, my son wouldn't have lost his life . Us poor don't really get any justice.”

The Khuna family are freed Kamaiya, or former bonded laborers. Upon being granted their freedom, the government had provided them five dhur plots of land for their rehabilitation. They have built houses on the plots and there is no space left for cultivation.“Our family stayed afloat on the wages that my son and I earned. Now, the whole responsibility of supporting the family rests on me,” said Bir Bahadur.Sunny's body is being kept at Mahakali Zonal Hospital. His father insists that he will claim the body only after the government declares him a martyr, provides the family some compensation and takes action against the police personnel responsible for the death.

Neighbors and relatives are at Bir Bahadur's house to console the bereaved family. However, police have also been visiting the house and threatening them not to crowd around , according to Pramila Chaudhary, a local.

“They visited the house multiple times, and each time they threatened us. Their behavior has left us scared. The security body responsible for protecting people has killed an innocent. Instead of being apologetic, they threaten us for no apparent reason.”

 
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