"I’m not a hater,” says Hussain Bhanpurawala, explaining why he’s wary of calls from strangers that he’s been flooded with since July 31, the day his father, Abdul Kader Bhanpurawala, was gunned down on a train by RPF jawan Chetan Singh. He has also questioned the government’s silence on the issue, and fears the accused will get political support. 

Hussain, however, refuses to see the incident through a religious lens. Three bearded Muslims were targeted by the jawan, but, Hussain points out, the first person to be shot was Singh’s senior, a Hindu. “I don’t think in those [religion] terms,” he says repeatedly. “Some of the calls I got were from people who wanted me to act like a hater,” he adds.