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The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
A suffering that doesn't end
As journalists, we have the privilege and the responsibility of witnessing and writing the first draft of history. We rush in to locations where others desperately try to move away from — the sites of terror attacks, fires, accidents, and other disasters. Though the passion to keep telling stories keeps us going, big tragedies leave us with scars that sometimes take years to heal. The Mumbai blasts of 2006 and the Malegaon blasts of 2008 are tragedies that the people of Maharashtra will never forget. Hearing the two court judgments in these cases over the last few weeks, I immediately remembered the struggles and flickering hope of some of the victims, and the resilience of the accused. In July 2010, Mumbai was observing the fourth anniversary of the serial blasts that had ripped through trains on July 11, 2006, killing 189 people and injuring over 800. Just days earlier, the media had been barred from entering the courtroom to cover the trial. I was getting ready to go to a hospital, where victims of the blasts had gathered. Many of them were agitated that the government had not been able to nab the accused, who had allegedly gone to Pakistan. They were also struggling to cope with medical expenses, failing health, and the impact of the injuries caused by the blasts. One of them was Rajesh Jha. His eardrums had been damaged due to the impact of the blast. The nerves on his left hand had been permanently damaged. Yet, Jha remained surprisingly positive. My brief interaction with him stayed with me for years. Later, Rajesh called to tell me that he had undergone a surgery and had become a chartered accountant. That was also the time when Parag Sawant had become a symbol of the tragedy. Sawant was going home in a Virar-bound local train in 2006, when a bomb exploded in his compartment at Mira Road station. Sawant's wife Priti Sawant was pregnant at the time. Sawant had been lying comatose for four years at a hospital and opened his eyes in 2010. His wife said that she was very happy that he recognised her. But this was not a story that ended well — nine years after the blasts, Sawant succumbed to his injuries. While the victims' stories spoke of the senselessness of the tragedy, the trial moved at a snail's pace. In 2015, one of the accused, Ehtesham Siddique, was given the death sentence by a trial court. He was acquitted by the Bombay High Court recently. Every time I walked into court, I would hear that Siddique had filed a fresh Right to Information (RTI) application. Siddique filed hundreds of RTIs seeking to know whether the officer who had conducted the identification parade was authorised to do so, information on the log book entries of the vehicles cited in the probe, call detail records of the accused, and so on. He sought writing material and enrolled himself in educational courses. Siddiqui also wrote a memoir about the blasts and how he was falsely implicated, titled Horror Saga. Eventually, it was due to the efforts of Siddique and others, who relentlessly filed RTIs, that the prosecution's case collapsed. The Anti-Terrorism Squad had to admit to the Bombay High Court that it did not have the call detail records, a crucial piece of evidence. Can anything compensate Siddique and others for the loss of the years that they spent in jail? I also remember the frustration and agitation of a senior public prosecutor who was asked to 'go soft' on the accused of the 2008 Malegaon blasts, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh. While some of the accused in the Mumbai train blasts case had alleged that they had been tortured in prison, the senior public prosecutor said that a few of the accused in the Malegaon case threw tantrums in jail, refusing to let the staff touch them for routine examinations. Some accused are more equal than others. After all these trials and tribulations, the victims feel nothing but a sense of hopelessness and pain today. Covering their stories, one cannot help but feel their frustration as well.
The Print
7 days ago
- The Print
Three passengers caught for ticket irregularities booked for damaging rly property, assaulting staff
Mumbai, Aug 2 (PTI) Three persons, including a woman, were booked on Saturday for allegedly damaging railway property and assaulting staff after they were caught in the first class compartment of a Virar-bound train with a lower class ticket, an official said. The incident took place at 3pm in the ticket checkers' office at Borivali station, he said, adding the three were caught on the Dadar-Virar local by a ticket-checking team under deputy chief ticket inspector Shamsher Ibrahim.
The Hindu
21-07-2025
- The Hindu
High Court verdict akin to rubbing salt on our wounds: 7/11 train blasts survivor
Gardening contractor Harish Powar lived with the physical and emotional scars of the 7/11 local train bombings while waiting for the closure. However, the acquittal of 12 accused by the Bombay High Court after 19 years has left the Virar resident aghast, prompting him to dub the verdict akin to rubbing salt on the wounds of victims. Mr. Powar, now 44, vividly remembers July 11, 2006, when a bomb blast ripped through the first-class coach of a Virar-bound local train he was travelling in, which left him injured. "The blast scene keeps cropping up in front of my eyes even after almost two decades. I remember bodies lying inside the compartment with blood splattered on its walls. Some people were writhing in pain, while a few others were lying motionless," Powar told PTI. He recalled spotting the head that had flown into the coach due to the explosion's impact. Nineteen years after seven train blasts here killed more than 180 persons, the Bombay High Court on Monday (July 21, 2025) acquitted all 12 accused, saying the prosecution 'utterly failed' to prove the case and it was "hard to believe the accused committed the crime". Dismayed by the verdict, Mr. Powar sarcastically said, "If the accused persons are acquitted, then getting out of our houses for work to feed our family is a we are the culprits". The landscape and gardening contractor had sustained serious injuries to his chest when he was travelling in a first-class compartment of a Virar-bound local train. "After 19 years, nobody would expect such a verdict. If the 12 accused are acquitted, then we should know the real culprits," he said. In a damning indictment of the prosecution's case, the High Court has declared all confessional statements of the accused inadmissible, suggesting "copying'. Stressing that the judiciary is the only hope for the common people, Mr. Powar said such judgements are akin to rubbing salt on the wounds of the victims. "The judgement made common people like me, who travel in packed trains to go to work to sustain our elderly parents and families, look like the main culprits. I don't know who should be blamed for the acquittal of the accused," he lamented. Sank into despondency, Mr. Powar said this judgment has left all the victims upset. The gardener, who worked in South Mumbai, vividly remembers his train ride home from Grant Road station on the fateful day 19 years ago. "I boarded the first-class coach of the 6.05 pm train from Grant Road station to go to Virar. When the train reached Matunga Road station, a strong explosion ripped through the coach. I can't forget the scene even after 19 years. Bodies were lying inside the compartment. Some people were lying injured while others lay motionless. There was blood everywhere". Powar suffered injuries to his chest and was admitted to the hospital for treatment. Recalling his recovery, Powar said he battled physical pains and nightmares for several days. "In the initial four or five days, I couldn't recognise what had happened to me. I couldn't sleep. The bomb blast scene and bodies of victims used to crop up in my dreams," he added. Powar said the psychological trauma lingered on for days. Even after he recovered from injuries, he initially couldn't muster the courage to board a local train- the lifeline of Mumbai. "However, gradually life returned to normal, and it had to, as I have to keep working for my family", he added.
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Time of India
Over 41,000 men booked for illegally traveling in coaches reserved for disabled on Mumbai locals
Mumbai: More than 41,000 men were booked for travelling illegally in coaches reserved for the handicapped on Western and Central Railway trains between January 2023 and February 2025. The number of women booked in the same period was just about 1,541. The data was accessed through a Right to Information (RTI) plea. Activists highlighted the difficulties faced by the disabled in boarding, alighting, or getting a seat in trains during peak hours, despite the legal action. "During peak hours, when other compartments are full, able-bodied travellers start entering the coach reserved for the disabled. At times, it becomes impossible for us to board or alight within the few minutes that a train halts at a station," said differently abled activist Nitin Gaikwad who filed the RTI plea. The problem is acute at Ghatkopar, Thane, Kalyan, and Dombivali stations on CR. "By the time a CSMT-bound train reaches Dombivali station, the handicapped coach is chock-a-block with able-bodied travellers. I have filmed numerous such instances," Gaikwad said, citing an incident where a disabled commuter suffered a leg fracture while trying to alight from the handicapped coach. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo CR's response to the RTI plea shows that the highest number of unauthorised travellers (7,568 cases) were booked by Thane Railway Protection Force (RPF), followed by Dadar RPF, which recorded 3,486 cases, between January 2023 and February 2025. A senior RPF official told TOI they have more manpower deployed at major stations, which is a reason for higher cases. On WR, disabled travellers face difficulty in boarding or alighting from Virar-bound locals after Bandra station. "Pushing and shoving inside the handicapped compartment is very common," said Pandharinath Vetkar, a govt employee who has 90% disability and uses crutches while commuting. On May 16, a visually challenged woman was assaulted in a CR local following a row over seats. The accused, Mohd Ismail Beg, was arrested after a video shot by onlookers went viral. In another incident, a differently-abled man was verbally abused by a woman in the handicapped coach of a CSMT-Badlapur fast train. "Able-bodied women travellers largely get away scot-free as the RPF does not have sufficient female staff to escort them. Another reason is that under the law, women can't be hauled to the police station after sunset, so they are not prosecuted as much," said an activist. An RPF officer however said they remove able-bodied female travellers from the handicapped coach. Activists also pointed out that plainclothed policemen travel regularly in handicapped coaches despite it being illegal. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
