World | India
Woman tells how terrorists killed her husband
Thakore Budhabhai Vagella, 31, was halfway through his dinner when he heard a man's voice at the door asking for a glass of water.
- By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:41 December 2, 2008
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Dubai: Thakore Budhabhai Vagella, 31, was halfway through his dinner when he heard a man's voice at the door asking for a glass of water.
His wife Karuna, who was sitting beside him, was about to get up and go to the door but Thakore opted to go instead.
Having opened the door, Thakore turned to his wife and asked her to get the young man some water. Handing the glass to her husband, Karuna went back inside. A minute later she heard gunshots. When she got to the door she found her husband in a pool of blood.
It was a daunting task to track down Karuna as she does not have a phone of any description. Eventually Gulf News tracked her down through staff members at the G.T. Hospital where her husband worked as a sweeper. Karuna had been frequenting the hospital since the death of her husband, they said.
Gulf News spoke to the woman about the loss of her husband and the task that lies ahead for her as she attempts to bring up her two young children singlehandedly.
Karuna said that she and her husband lived a hand-to-mouth existence in a shanty house adjacent to her mother-in-law's modest home.
"The two terrorists were first seen by my mother-in-law, who lives alone. On the night of November 26, she was about to go to bed when she heard noises that sounded like fire crackers," Karuna said.
"She opened the door to find out who was making a racket at that late hour. It was dark outside, so she stepped out to get a better view. What she saw shocked her. Two young men were firing indiscriminately around them.
"She panicked, rushed back inside and shut her rickety wooden door. Bullets hit her door, but luckily she was not wounded," Karuna said.
Asked why she and her husband hadn't heard the gunfire, Karuna said her television was on and firecrackers were commonly used as the festive season approached.
"I did hear a faint sound but thought that children must have been setting off fire crackers. I didn't imagine that they were gunshots," she said.
Karuna says she can still hear the voice of the young man who asked for water.
"What did my husband do to them? Why did they shoot him? My husband was having dinner after a hard day's work and got up to offer water to that man. In return, he was shot.
"In our culture, we do not turn away anyone who comes to the door, regardless of the time of day.
"But after what has happened, I am sure everyone will think twice before answering the door," said Karuna, who is waiting for government compensation so that she can try to get on with her life.
A senior official at the G.T. hospital said that she would most probably not receive any compensation from her late husband's employer, as he did not die in the course of duty or on its premises.
Mumbai police sources told Gulf News that Hemant Karkare of the Anti-Terrorist Squad was shot about 10 minutes after Thakore was killed.
"The G.T. hospital is located close to the Chatrapathi Shivaji Station station where the terrorists created so much mayhem. Hemant Karkare, along with officers Ashokrao Kamte and Vijay Salaskar, were on their way to the station when they were told that gunfire had been reported near the G.T. and Cama hospitals.
The three officers were on their way to investigate when terrorists sprayed their vehicle with bullets," the source said.
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