Prostitutes say the shooting incident has been nothing short of traumatic

At present, 30-year-old Pinky is recovering from a surgery, in which doctors removed a five-month-old foetus and a .45 bullet from her abdomen yesterday. Her companion Reena, who was hit in the leg, is on a bed next to hers. Rupa, the third sex worker who was injured, is back home nursing her wounds.

Life hasn’t been the same for residents of Kennedy Bridge ever since constable Radheyshyam Kori picked up his rifle and fired. The residents of Kennedy bridge have been taking turns to come and sit outside the hospital, wanting to be there if either Pinky or Reena, the other woman injured in the incident, need anything.

“We are carrying fruits with us,” says Maya. “Pinky cannot eat yet but Reena can. We are the only family they have and we are here for them.”

Farzana and Pinky were chatting near a pan shop when the incident happened. Reconstructing the sequence of events, Farzana says: “The policeman sauntered up to us and asked me for a cigarette, which I gave him. He then turned to Pinky and asked for a Thums Up, which she said she couldn’t give. Irritated, he asked us to go into our house since some senior was going to be doing the rounds. Pinky refused.”

At this point, policeman Radheshyam Kori, who was apparently on patrol duty, is said to have got a little upset. Farzana adds: “He threatened that he would shoot us. We thought he was joking because constables always talk to us like that. Before we knew it, he had loaded his gun and fired the shot. Right there, before my eyes, Pinky collapsed.”

“We just heard the gun shot and then somebody informed us that our girls had been shot,” says Aaina. “We ran down and saw a pool of blood in which Pinky was lying, clutching her stomach. It has been a traumatic two days for us.”

It has been a long and tiresome vigil for all of them. With hospital authorities “being uncooperative” and “shooing” them away, all the sex workers of Kennedy bridge can do is sit and wait. “I have come and gone twice,” says Maya. “They are not letting us see her or talk to her. We are not even very sure about how she is doing.”

Hospital officials say “it is for medical reasons” that they are not allowing anybody to meet Pinky, not even during visiting hours. “This is a trauma unit and we only allow family members to meet,” explains assistant medical officer Dr Mahesh Shah. “We let the mother meet her son this morning and the only reason we are not allowing too many people is that she is still critical.”

Pinky’s colleagues are not buying that. “We are her only family,” says Farzana. “We feel so helpless. Maybe if we did something else, things would be different. Right now all we can do is pray that both of them recover and come back home.”