Delhi Riots Diary: A Daughter Longs For Her Father's Presence At Home

For a long time, my life has been filled with silence where my father’s presence should have been. Days passed, seasons changed, but the feeling of missing him remained the same.

Recently, my father came home, those days felt like a dream. The house felt alive again. Simple moments like eating, talking, sitting quietly beside him become memories I will treasure forever.

I always believed that this distance would not last forever. Because a daughter never stops missing her father, and hope never leaves a heart that loves deeply.

— Forever Distance, Sara Afreen

This is a letter written to Syed Tasleem Ahmed Shah by his daughter Sara Afreen.

Shah, 42 is one of the 18 accused in FIR 59/2020, pertaining to the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case. He was arrested on April 8, 2020, in a different case, but his name was later added to FIR 59. Before his arrest, he used to teach at a coaching centre. Ahmed has now been behind bars for nearly six years without trial.