Fates changed, hopes remain…

For the Mishra family, no news is good news. One year after a journey from Allahabad to Vadodara on board the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Exp...

For the Mishra family, no news is good news. One year after a journey from Allahabad to Vadodara on board the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express changed their lives forever, Satish Mishra and his daughter are still clinging to the hope that Mangala, Satish’s wife, who went missing on February 27 last year, will return some day.

Archana, who lives in a hutment in Ranoli outside Vadodara with her father, now shoulders household chores along with her studies. ‘‘Earlier, my mother used to take care of everything at home and I did not have to bother,’’ says Archana.

But it’s not the extra work that’s weighing her down; it’s the wait for her missing mother. ‘‘It’s almost a year and as we have not received any news of her, we hope that she must be there somewhere,’’ says Archana.

Story continues below this ad

Mishra says they have not received any compensation from the state government. ‘‘We haven’t approached any agency for compensation yet as we are not in a frame of mind to apply for money,’’ he says. He says his wife had been treated at Godhra Civil Hospital and a discharge slip from the hospital is what is keeping his hopes alive. ‘‘The slip clearly mentions that my wife was discharged after being treated for smoke inhalation.’’

Recalling the S-6 journey, Mishra says they were returning from Allahabad and the train was very crowded that day. He says once the coach was attacked, they pulled down the window shutters.