Saeed Khan TNN

Ahmedabad: There are many similarities between the story of Vivek, who was born Muzaffar, and that of Azhar Mody, the Parsi schoolboy who disappeared from Gulbarg Society during the 2002 riots in Gujarat and inspired the film Parzania. While Azhar is yet to be found, Muzaffar’s reappearance in 2008 triggered a fierce tug-of-war between two sets of parents — one Hindu and the other Muslim.
This custody battle reached the Gujarat high court which recently turned down a petition by the boy’s biological parents seeking Vivek back. The boy was separated from his father Mohammed Salim Shaikh and mother Jaibunissa in 2002 during Ahmedabad’s Gulbarg massacre, in which 69 people were killed. When he was found six years later, he was being raised by Meena (alias Vina) Patani, a Hindu woman. Today, he is 13.
Justice Ravi Tripathi dismissed the petition since the child has now grown up and can decide his own future. The court wanted to know Vivek’s decision, and he made it clear that he would stay with Meena. Jaibunnisa’s counsel said they will now move the SC.

PARZANIA REDUX: Muzaffar is being raised by adoptive mother Meena Patani

 

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