‘Nothing less than life term or death sentence will do’
MUMBAI: Dattatreya Pawar and Sriram Parit had their eyes glued on just two of the 123 accused in the 1993 serial blasts case. And they rejoiced on hearing that Shahnawaz Qureishi and Asgar Mukadam had been charged guilty for their role in the Plaza theatre blast, which killed 10 people. They now hope that the two will be given nothing less than life term or death sentence.
“The loud bang, flying parts of mangled bodies, people running helter-skelter.... The scenes will haunt me for the rest of my life,” said Pawar.
Parit, who was the doorkeeper at the Plaza on that Black Friday, said, “I saw people hurled several feet above ground come crashing as pulp of flesh and blood. The site would have unnerved the toughest. Those who perpetrated this crime are enemies of humanity. No mercy should be shown to them.”
Parit lost four of his colleagues - Barsinge Mukadam (housekeeping in-charge), Ramchandra Shinde and Bal Vatsa (projector operator) and Dilip (securityman) - “because of an insane act of few people.”
Dinkar Chawan, a supervisor at the Plaza, said the theatre had been houseful on that day, with some 900 people turning up to watch Tiranga. “By 3pm, Shinde and Vatsa had come to know about the series of blasts. Curiosity brought them outside the theatre. That proved to be their undoing. The unsuspecting duo stood close to an RDX-laden Maruti 800 that blew up, killing eight more along with them,” said Chawan.
Pawar, who was at the ticket counter that day, said, “Punish them. They should be made accountable for every drop of blood they spilt.” “Punish the guilty. Terrorists have always threatened human life. Now, let the judiciary threaten them. The message that the judiciary does not spare the guilty should go far and wide,” said three more witnesses of the ghastly act, who are still working at the Plaza.
“The blasts have broken the spirit of the common man. People leaving their homes in the morning are not sure they will return safely. This is a country where innocents pay with their lives and the guilty go scot-free,” rued Pawar and Parit.
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