When Maruti Phad answered the call, he sounded a bit astonished, “Why would you want to interview me, a year later?” he asked curiously. When I explained it was because he was a survivor of the 26/11 terror attacks, he said instantly, “Then you must interview me.” It has been a year since the attacks took place, and it hasn’t been an easy year for Phad, who not only lost his ring finger but also his job as a driver at the Medical Education and Drugs department, “I am now working as a clerk with them.”
On the night the attacks took place, Phad, received a call from his senior asking him to get to work immediately. Without much thought Phad, took the white Honda City and drove towards St Xaviers’ College only to find himself face-to-face with Kasab and Ismail Khan, “They wanted the car and kept shooting at me,” says Phad, who quickly slid underneath the driver’s seat and started reversing the car.
In the firing, Phad received a bullet on his back, which he pulled out with his hands and also lost a finger on his right hand. When the tyres of his car burst, he decided to feign death by slipping to the floor of the car and positioning his bleeding hand over his face, “That saved me. The terrorist came over and thought I was dead. As they had punctured the tyres they didn’t take the car with them. Minutes later Karkare sahib’s car came and the terrorists shot him,” says the sole bread earner of a family of four. It has been a year, but the memories of the 26/11 attacks are still fresh in his mind, “I lost my ring finger. I can’t drive, write or hold a glass anymore. I have to live with that,” he adds.
— Anita Aikara
Comments