As TV channels broke news about the arrest of alleged terrorist Yasin Bhatkal on Thursday morning, Harshad Patel,a local,sprung into action. He was quick to call a few victims of the Ahmedabad serial blasts,asking them to gather for a small demonstration to press for the demand to hang the bomber. In less then three hours,around a dozen persons,including victims kin and local residents,assembled near the Hatkeshwar crossroads in Amraiwadi,a labour-dominated neighbourhood,holding photos of victims and a poster of Bhatkal,at the site where a bomb explosion killed four persons,including two women,on July 26,2008. Thursday wasnt the first time the victims families and local residents staged a protest. For the past five years since the blast at Hatkeshwar crossroads,it has seen many such protests. We gathered at least five times to demand the hanging of Ajmal Kasab for killing hundreds of innocent men and women in Mumbai. Whenever he hit the headlines,we came out,protested and demanded he be hanged, said Patel,popularly known as khabari among journalists. Patel said that soon after the news reports,he went to a cyber cafe and got a picture of Bhatkal. Patel,who runs a fair price shop for a living,is also popular in the local community for social service. Fifty-five-year-old Shravan Gorikar,who lost his wife in the bomb blast,is thankful to Patel. He said it was Patel who came to his house a day after the blast with journalists which has continued till today. He said that for the past five years he had been coming out with a picture of his wife,Sunanda,to protest so that such incidents didnt occur again. Besides Sunanda,Dayaben Purabia and Murarilal Agrawal were also killed while another victim remains unidentified. At Hatkeshwar circle,people have been witnessing a large number of such assemblies since the bomb blast. Earlier,the issues were related to terror attacks,but today even Team Indias win over Pakistan in cricket matches bring the locals to assemble at the crossroads. Abdul Kalam Pathan,a mason,is one of the few Muslims who figures in these assemblies,wearing skullcap. Originally from Bhadohi district in Uttar Pradesh,Pathan said he joined the assembly only after Patel called him to. I believe killing people is wrong. Islam doesnt support bloodshed. I heard about Bhatkal only yesterday,however,I cant say whether he is guilty or not as that is the governments prerogative. I took part in the assembly since the people of Gujarat believe that he is the culprit, he said.
