Mohammed Sahil had brought his 50-year-old wounded father to the GTB Hospital on a motorcycle two days ago, but on Thursday evening, he collected his body wrapped in a starch-white shroud.
Tears trickled down his cheeks as Parvez Alam's body was wheeled into an ambulance on way to Muzaffarnagar, the deceased's native place.
A grieving Sahil had been waiting anxiously at the GTB Hospital for the last two days and doctors handed over the body after conducting post-mortem.
The death toll in Delhi's worst riots in more than three decades climbed to 38 on Thursday as the violence ebbed but did not subside completely and thousands of people began picking up the pieces of their shattered lives and livelihoods.
Asked where would he bury his father, Sahil said, "We have got 'walid sahab's' (father's) body, and we are taking it to Muzaffarnagar."
"Our relatives are afraid to come to Delhi, so we are taking him to Muzaffarnagar, where the burial will take place," the 26-year-old told PTI.
Alam was born in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh but had migrated to Delhi.
He had a garage in Civil Lines initially and then moved to Wazirabad, his son recalled.
"People, Hindus and Muslims, knew my father. He always stood for social harmony. But, all he got in return from society was a bullet in his back," Sahil said.
Recalling the horror, Sahil, a resident of north Gonda area, said his father ran a garage and was trying to pacify people from both the communities to not engage in violence.
"As he stood near the door of our home last night, a bulled hit him in the back, and he collapsed. We ran after we saw him on the ground," the weeping son recalled.
But, that was only the beginning of horror, says Sahil, who assisted his father in running the garage.
"We called 100 number for police but got no response, we tried emergency ambulance number, but again in vain. We then tried to reach out to police, but they did not help us," Sahil alleged.
The northeast Delhi resident said he then requested a friend to "lend me his scooty" to travel to the GTB Hospital, about 5-6 km from his residence.
At the mortuary at the hospital, scenes of grieving family members added to the sombre ambience.
Bihar native Deepak Kumar, 34, who worked in a manufacturing unit in Gokulpuri in northeast Delhi was also among the victims.
Ajay Kumar, his brother wept as he collected Deepak's body, wrapped in white shroud, from the morgue.
"We belong to Ara district. I and Deepak had moved to Delhi to make a living. Deepak's wife and children are back home in Bihar. A bolt of lightning has fallen on us. What will I tell to his wife," Ajay said, before leaving for Ara in an ambulance that carried his brother's body.
Azra Khatun too was inconsolable outside the mortuary of the GTB Hospital, as she waited to receive the body of her nephew, Ashfaq Hussain (22), an Indira Vihar resident, who was killed during the communal violence in northeast Delhi.
"Hussain got married to Tasneem on February 14 and we were very happy, but fate snatched him from us," Azra said.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
