After the riots, Jafri’s wife, Zakia, shifted from Ahmedabad to Surat, to her eldest son Tanveer Jaffri’s house in the Rander area. Her younger son and daughter are in the US.

Zakia told Newsline: “The law is taking its own course and we are happy. The arrest of a police officer of the rank of Dy SP is a big step by the SIT officials. I had seen the entire incident; the shouting and the bloodshed when the mob came; even the role of the police officers after the incident. There are other high-ranking police officers who acted to instructions given to them. They too should be arrested and punished.”

She added: “The massacre started at 9 in the morning and continued till evening and no police officer turned up to stop the mob. The Gulbarg incident was well-planned and executed. Erda is the tip of an iceberg. Several other police officers had played their part and they too should be punished.”

Tanveer said the arrest of a Dy SP could possibly act as a lesson to other officers on how to conduct themselves during a riot. “The attack on Gulbarg Society was similar to the recent terror attack on Mumbai. The Maharashtra chief minister and home minister were replaced in a short time, but in our case, investigations are going on at a snail's pace even after six years,” he said.