Ahmedabad: The man who became the face of 2002 communal riots in Gujarat with an iconic photograph of his - showing him begging for mercy - becoming ubiquitous, wants a ban on its use.
Qutubbuddin Narsuddin Ansari has written to Ahmedabad police commissioner seeking to ban media and others from using the 2002 picture, contending that some people were using it for personal gains.
In his letter of June 9 (which came to light on Friday) Ansari has asked the city police commissioner to restrain media, NGOs and others from using the picture in magazines, websites or brochures.
"Today I am living in peace with my family. Not only that, my children are also being brought up in a very good environment," he has said.
"It hurts me when even today I see my picture with folded hands depicting my helplessness in newspapers, websites and on covers of reports of some NGOs," he said.
"I would request you (Commissioner) to please impose a ban on the use of my picture in future. And also, ask all media, websites and NGOs to remove my picture from their documents."
Ansari recalls in the letter that when the riots had broken out in 2002, he was living in Naroda area of the city. A mob had attacked the area and he was saved by the police in time.
A photographer clicked the picture while he was pleading for mercy before the mob, he said.
"I have been a victim of the gruesome riots. But to date, I have not received adequate compensation. I have made an application for compensation before the Ahmedabad collector but it was rejected on the ground that the application should have been filed in 2002," Ansari added.
Post-riots, he shifted to Malegaon in Maharashtra and later went to Kolkata with the help of NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace. He stayed there for over a year, he says.
In Kolkata, he came to know how his picture was being used by websites, NGOs and other people "for personal gains". The picture was used by national and international organisations on websites for fund gathering for the riot victims, he adds.
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