While Mumbra-based Ishrat Jahan (19) was gunned down in 2004 along with three men - alleged LeT operatives - accompanying her, this Ishrat managed to escape with her husband, two small children and four brothers and sisters. The road to justice however was long for both of them. Incidentally, the SIT was instrumental in getting the wheels of justice move for both of them. In 2011, SIT submitted a report that Ishrat Jahan was killed in a fake encounter and that she was already in police custody before her killing. This led to the investigations now being handed over to CBI. Ishrat Jahan of Naroda Patia became a witness first with the SIT specially appointed by the Supreme Court to probe further into the Naroda Patia massacre.
She was a witness to the mayhem but in her words she thought you could be a witness only if your had witnessed a murder. "I used to stay in Shah Alam relief camp but never gave my statements. I was too worried about how will I survive, will get my sisters married and manage food for my children. It was only in 2008 when I saw SIT team recording statements that I realized that I could be a soldier in the army needed to secure justice for the Naroda Patia where 93 people were killed," says Ishrat. This unlettered woman has recorded her statement with SIT and also given her testimony to the court. In the meantime, she also realized that her husband was struggling alone and was not getting enough business to sustain the family.
"He does hand embroidery and the invasion of machines has left him without business. I knew stitching but never earned. Since three years, I started tailoring and now also teach sewing to girls in the locality. I have finally managed to stand on my feet," says Ishrat who earns Rs 3,000 per month. She got her two sisters married, one while living in the relief camp and other later. Her brother, however, has wandered on the wrong side of law. "What happened in 2002 changed him. My focus is to straighten him," says Ishrat who says she is confident that her fight for justice will bear fruit. "I started receiving threat calls the minute I named people, living across the street. But I am not afraid. There is law on my side and there are people who believe that injustice was done. The guilty will be punished," she says.
Comments
Add new comment