'We pray all the accused should get death penalty': Victims of 7/11 train blasts on the verdict

Mumbai: A special court on Friday convicted 12 people for the involvement in the 11 July, 2006 train blasts which killed 189 persons and injured over 820.

Firstpost spoke with some of those directly affected by the blasts and here’s what they had to say:

Madhuri, mother of Parag Sawant, who died in July 2015 after being in a coma for nine years

“Though it’s good that the accused have been convicted, the damage has been done as we have lost our son and nobody can return him. Now, we pray that all the convicted accused should get the death penalty. Parag’s father, Jaiprakash, was in court today to hear the convictions being announced and the family is satisfied with conviction on the accused.”

Dr NM Kamat, a victim who lost his hearing partially in both ears

“All these accused should get the capital punishment so as to send a strong message to like-minded people. It will serve as a deterrent to them. It would have been much better if the verdict been delivered in a year. There seems to be lack of political will which delayed the trial. It is also saddening that government forced us to run from pillar to post to get compensation for the injuries we suffered in the blast.

“I had to fight till the human rights commission to get my rightful compensation. The treatment meted out by these agencies was humiliating. There are still many who are struggling to get the compensation for their living. So, the government should provide the help to the victims’ family without any hassles.”

Ramnivas Ladha, a victim and Goregaon resident

“Since these accused were involved the train bomb blast, they should get harsher punishment so the message will go their other partners. But, the real culprits, who are the masterminds behind the train blast, have still not been arrested by the police. They must be arrested and put to trial. Only then can we say that we have got justice. “Also, the state government should give 50 percent concession to the train blast victims for traveling in train. It is very difficult for us travel like any other normal man. So, it would provide much needed help to us.”

Manish Shirodkar, nephew of Chandrakant Dalvi, a victim who passed away on June 26, 2015

“Three months back, my uncle passed away. He suffered a lot since the 2006 train blast and could not recover from that tragic incident. The entire family suffered from mental and financial trauma during this period. Though we are satisfied with the sentencing of the 12 accused, we still feel that the government should take care of the dependents of survivors and provide jobs or give some financial assistance to them.

“The government has not provided any help to these people, who have been suffering a lot and has left them to fend for themselves.”