Mumbai: Every year on the 12th of March, Kirti Ajmera sits with photographs of the surgeries and treatments he went through after the 1993 bomb blasts. As he relives the memories of that bloody day, Ajmera writes letters to state and Union ministers demanding compensation. On March 12, 1993, Mumbai suffered a series of 12 bomb blasts.
The first kind of such serial terrorist bombings led to the death of more than 250 people and left around 1,400 people injured. The prime suspects of the blasts continue to remain at large, while the victims are yet to receive any compensation from the government.
Ajmera, 66, has been writing letters to the government for the past 31 years, demanding compensation and a rapid action committee to deal with such cases, but to no avail.
“I have been demanding the constitution of a committee that will come into action after such incidents,” he told The Free Press Journal. “They should look after the victims, including their treatment as well as compensation. I have even offered to work as a member of the committee for free, but no one – not at the state government level neither at the Union government level – has shown any interest in the matter.”
A young businessman striving to earn a better living for his family, Ajmera was just 36 years old when he was severely injured in the blast outside the Bombay Stock Exchange. He was on his way to the stock exchange building when the bomb exploded, turning one of the most spirited places in the city into a pile of debris and human bodies.
Ten minutes after the explosion, Ajmera picked himself up from the ground. His right arm was nearly severed. Glasses from nearby windows had pierced various parts of his body, including two 12mm pieces that were buried two inches deep inside his liver.
With broken ribs, ruptured eardrums, damaged liver and kidney, Ajmera went through over 40 surgeries. He still has multiple glass pieces inside his body.
“I spent more than Rs 40 lakh on different surgeries on my hand, face and back. The blast took away most of what I had earned after moving to this city. I couldn’t provide the education and lifestyle that my children deserved. For 10 years, my family and I have lived alone. No politician or corporator has offered to help,” Ajmera said. Ajmera believes that the government should pay at least some compensation to the victims, if not the entire expense of treatment.
“Hearing my complaint, the National Human Rights Commission Delhi advised the Maharashtra government to provide compensation within a month, but the government has not acted on it for years. Neither the prime accused have been arrested nor the victims have been served justice,” said Ajmera.
