26/11 terror attacks: Youngest survivor and key eyewitness moves HC seeking house from govt

Devika Rotawan the youngest survivor and an eyewitness to the 2611 Mumbai terror attacks has moved the Bombay High Court seeking allotment of residential premises after the Maharashtra government rejected her plea for itThis is the second time that Rotawan now 23 years old has approached the court In 2020 she had filed a similar petition In October 2020 the high court had directed the Maharashtra government to consider her plea and pass appropriate ordersIn her fresh plea filed last month Rotawan said the government had rejected her representation following which she was constrained to file a second petition in the high courtOn Thursday when the petition came up for hearing before a division bench of Justices S V Gangapurwala and M S Karnik additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan who appeared for the Maharashtra government said that pursuant to the October 2020 order a compensation of Rs 1326 lakh was handed over to Rotawan on compassionate groundsAlso read 2611 Mumbai terror attack handler jailed for 15 years in PakistanAdvocate R Bubna appearing for the Union government said Rotawan was given compensation of Rs 10 lakh after the attacks as per government policy He said she Rotawan cannot be demanding more as a matter of rightSince no lawyer was present for Rotawan on Thursday the bench adjourned hearing in the plea till October 12Rotawan who was nine years old at the time of the terror attacks at multiple locations in the city was at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus CSMT railway station along with her father and brother when two of the ten Pakistani terrorists opened fireIn her plea Rotawan said she had suffered a bullet injury on her leg and her father and brother too sustained injuries It said because of several morbidities it was not possible for her father and brother to earn a livelihoodThe plea also said she and her family are living in penury and they would be rendered homeless as they have not been to pay the rent for their houseRotawan in her petition further said that after the attacks several Central and state government officials had visited her house and assured to provide accommodation to them under the Economically Weaker Section EWS quotaThe officials she claimed in her petition also assured to make adequate arrangements for her education and monetary assistance for her and her familys medical treatmentBut she did not receive any help it saidOn November 26 2008 10 LashkareTaiba LeT terrorists from Pakistan arrived by sea route and opened fire killing 166 people including 18 security personnel and injuring several others during the 60hour siege in MumbaiNine terrorists were later killed by the security forces including the NSG the countrys elite commando force Ajmal Kasab was the only terrorist who was captured alive He was hanged four years later on November 21 2012This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever