Victims cold to sentence

The twin blasts at the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazar had changed their lives; Thursdays sentences will not.

The three death sentences cannot change anything. The change is that travelling from Kandivali to Zaveri Bazar is more difficult, says Rama Patil,who lost an eye and was injured in the leg. Patil,who serves food at Sharda Restaurant,was in hospital for nearly a year before he was back on his feet. He is still bitter at what the blast cost him.

I was promised a lot of help by politicians but got little. The Rs 25,000 I got from the government was spent on treatment. All I have to show is a ruined eye and an injured leg, he said.

Sonba Devrikar,who sells sugarcane juice a few feet away,is equally cold to the sentence. My right leg was severely injured and I was unable to work for 6-7 months, he said.

Rajiv Mahto,a photographer injured at the Gateway of India,said,I was without work for 4-5 months and my camera was destroyed. I am back as a photographer but life has become difficult.

Yet Mahto,injured in a hand,the chest and both legs,welcomed the verdict. I am very pleased, he said,but added,It would have been more satisfying to victims,families and survivors had the trial ended earlier.

One person affected indirectly by the blasts is Ahmed Sayyed,an AC mechanic who has rented the house where convict Sayyed Mohammed Hanif lived. Fed up of crowds who have thronged the house at various stages of the trial,he stayed away with his wife and child on Thursday. The house at Salim Compound in Marol has been locked for a few days,neighbours said.

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