Pratibha Ishwalkar
then 35, lost her husband
He had just stepped out of his house when a stray bullet fired by the police to control the mob hit him. Vishnu Ishwalkar, a resident of Francis Chawl in Jogeshwari (East), died on the spot.
Today, the chawl in which he lived hasn’t changed very much. The masjid right at its entrance and another across the road, the same one that the raging mob had tried to demolish, has been resurrected. The family moved on, but is yet to come to terms with what really happened that day.
Pratibha, nearly 50 years old now, remembers shouts and slogans waking them up late that night of January 8. As her husband went out to check what was happening, he asked Pratibha to stay indoor and keep their two young children company.
“He was going towards the entrance to the chawl, when the bullet hit him. He just died there. There was so much chaos that we had to flee the place. We stayed with relatives in another locality for over three months,” says Pratibha.
Over the years, Vishnu’s elder brother supported the family as Pratibha was a homemaker. “We got compensation from the government. But my brother-in-law Prabhakar has taken care of my family, ensuring my children were educated,” says Pratibha.
Pratibha is clueless about the police complaint or cases related to the incident. She was never called to give her statements.
And Prabhakar Ishwalkar is clearly an angry man, angry at what happened and at the government’s attempts to reopen the cases now. “My brother was not involved with any rioting. As happens in chawls, when there is some commotion, people step out to see what is happening. That is exactly what he was doing, and he was hit by a bullet,” says Prabhakar.
“The Government just wants to redig the graves. Are we pawns in the hands of the Government for them to play games with? What if something happens now because of what they are doing, will the Government take responsibility for it?” he questions.
— Swatee Kher

... contd.