Mumbai, (Samajweekly) A 9-year old girl, who was shot in her leg during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 and dreamt of becoming an IPS officer to crush terrorism, is now running from pillar to post for sheer survival.
On the verge of being thrown out on the streets due to financial constraints, the survivor — Devika Natwarlal Rotawan, now 21 — has filed a petition in Bombay High Court against the alleged apathy of the Maharashtra government for not extending the aid that was promised to her family.
The prime prosecution eyewitness in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, it was the plucky girl’s telling testimony against Ajmal Amir Kasab that finally led to his hanging on November 21, 2012 in Pune’s Yerawada Central Jail.
It is now 12 years since that harrowing night — when she was at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus with her father Natwarlal and brother Jayesh — when Pakistani terrorists struck.
She was in the main hall of the train terminus waiting to catch a train to visit her brother Bharat living in Pune when all hell broke loose at around 9.50 pm as the terrorists fired indiscriminately and hurled grenades at passengers.
As the terrified Rotawans attempted to escape, a bullet from the terrorist’s Ak-47 rifle pierced her right leg and she collapsed unconscious and bleeding.
Much later, Devika woke up in hospital and over the next six months, she underwent six surgeries and required months of post-operative care to help her walk normally...
https://www.samajweekly.com/12-yrs-after-26-11-youngest-survivor-seeks-promised-aid/