Rippon remembers seeing at least eight to 10 policemen. Or possibly more, he corrects himself. To him and his father it seemed like the posse of policemen from the chowki (police post) on Chowpatty beach was there, as well as many additional men. And there were plenty of lathis (batons), guns and rifles. He says at least 10 police vehicles arrived at the site.
While watching the scene, Hemal, who runs a weigh machine business, could not understand why the police were not using all their guns. "They had automatic weapons. I could see them. Why didn't they use them?"
Hemal is no stranger to Mumbai violence or terrorism. In 2003 he was living at the time in a building right above where the blast took place at Zaveri Bazaar, south Mumbai's jewelery market. His mother was injured in the head by flying glass; he says they cleared five buckets of glass from his home. And from that flat he also witnessed Mumbai's 1992 Hindu-Muslim riots.
"The riots were much worse. That was horrible." The shootout at Chowpatty and the attacks on Mumbai were less horrific by comparison, he feels.
The policemen were still at the Chowpatty intersection at 3 am when Pushpa Sadh decided to make tea for the police squad. "I only had one packet of milk." The policeman caught hold of a few milkmen and had extra milk sent to their house. Pushpa made three or four pateelas (pots) of tea, she says. "She took it down to them on a tray," her husband adds proudly, "along with the servant"
Image: Naresh and Pushpa Sadh with their son Rippon, left.
Also see: Nariman House: Diary of an Eyewitness
Advertisement
