On 14 April 2008, at around 2 AM, the quiet village of Bawankhedi in Amroha was shaken by screams. Shabnam, daughter of teacher Shaukat Ali, was crying loudly from the balcony of her house. Neighbours rushed to see what had happened.

The house was locked from the inside. Shabnam kept shouting, “They will kill me too. Save me!” After much persuasion, she came down and opened the main gate. Neighbours entered cautiously and were confronted by a shocking scene. Shaukat Ali’s headless body lay on the cot. In other rooms, his wife Hashmi, elder son Anees, daughter-in-law Anjum, younger son Rashid, and niece Rabia were all dead.

Behind this horrifying night lay a story that began years earlier, when Shabnam’s life was still ordinary, full of school days, family routines, and first love.

A rom

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