Five years after the Ahmedabad police killed Ishrat (19), a second-year student of Matunga’s Khalsa College, and three others in an encounter, there is finally something to cheer in the household. Flanked by residents who helped them in pursuing the case, mother Shamima Kausar looked somber on Monday evening, speaking little and mostly replying with a nod of her head. She had not only lost one of the family’s bright young daughters but had also had to live with the stigma of being labelled the family of a terrorist, said those around her.

Anwar (21) is the senior male member of the family, but ever since Ishrat’s demise, it has been the vocal Musarat who speaks for the family. “Words fail to express what we have been through in the past five years. My brother’s job prospects became bleak due to the tag of being a terrorist’s brother. My mother was constantly worried about how she would find grooms for her daughters. We reside in a rented place, but the label we got made it difficult to find a place,” said Musarat.

As for Ishrat, the family remembers her as the daughter who took charge of the reins of the family after the death of father Mohammad Sheikh, an unsuccessful builder. “She will always remain in our hearts. We hope that the people who killed her would be brought to book,” said Musarat.

A small group of Mumbra residents have been helping Ishrat’s family pursue the case in Gujarat. Rauf Lala, Munna Sahil and Kurshid Warsi of My Mumbra, a local organisation, had sought the help of experienced lawyers Mukul Sinha and Shilpa Shah and have been pursuing the matter for the last many years.