Time stands still at Bhikku Chowk as locals remember blast
The clock still hangs in the dairy, owned by Ijaj Ahmad, as a grim reminder of the blast that claimed six lives and left nearly 100 others injured.
The chowk, a crowded place at all times, is a destination for everyone wanting to catch up over a cup of tea, snacks, and paan. Some shops still bear the splinter marks from the blast, and locals have not forgotten the night of 17 years ago. Shopkeepers in the bustling Bhikku Chowk said the intensity of the blast was such that the metal shutters of the shops were cut through.
A cycle repair shop owner, Mohammad Sayyed, recalled that the motorcycle in which the prosecution claimed the bomb was planted, was parked just outside his shop. Since it was the month of Ramadan, he had gone to a masjid close by to offer namaz and was saved. "The blast occurred just a few minutes before people left the masjid. If it had exploded 10 minutes later, the disaster would have been huge," he added.
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A large number of people make it a point to come to this chowk to have tea from early morning till late at night, said Shaikh Hamid Shaikh Chand (63), a pan stall owner.
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"A boy named Jamil, who used to work with me, suffered serious injuries," he recalled.
The chowk has remained much the same in the past 17 years, but the road from Bhikku Chowk to Anjuman Chowk has been named Shaheed Hemant Karkare Road.
Late IPS officer Hemant Karkare was heading the state anti-terrorism squad in 2008 when the blast took place and closely oversaw the probe.
On Thursday, several Malegaon residents gathered at Bhikku Chowk, hoping for a conviction in the case.
They said Karkare conducted a thorough probe. "His efforts have been in vain," said Sikandar Ali, a powerloom worker.
Several Malegaon residents said they felt distraught by the court verdict. Maulana Abdul Qayyum, district president of Jamiat-e-Ulma, said, "If the govt felt the accused are innocent, then why did it not trace the people involved in the blast? We have full trust in the judiciary, and we will go to the higher court for justice."
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