26/11 hero found lying on the footpath; Samaritans and cops reunite him with family

On April 29, Harishchandra Shrivardhankar, who is in his late 60s, was found lying helpless on the footpath near a shop at Saat Rasta by Dean D’Souza, the store’s

On April 29, Harishchandra Shrivardhankar, who is in his late 60s, was found lying helpless on the footpath near a shop at Saat Rasta by Dean D’Souza, the store’s owner. Wondering how the man would be able to fend for himself during the coronavirus-enforced lockdown, D’Souza and his friends took it upon themselves to get Shrivardhankar home.

HT Image

What followed was another heart-warming tale of the spirit of Mumbai with a group of residents, along with the police, reuniting the senior citizen with his family in Kalyan on May 1.

However, what makes this tale different, and sad, is that Shrivardhankar is a hero of the 26/11 terror attacks.

Shrivardhankar, a then government employee, had braved two bullets on his back and according to an HT report in 2010, was one of the main witnesses who deposed before the special court and identified Ajmal Kasab as one of the gunmen who went on a rampage on 26/11. Shrivardhankar was injured in the firing by Kasab and his accomplice, Abu Ismail, outside Cama and Albless Hospital. He had even got into a scuffle with Ismail and had hit him with his office bag.

D’Souza says, “I found him lying in a bad condition near my shop. When I approached him, he couldn’t talk and was just mumbling a few words. Even if we gave him food, he would not eat it.” With just the words “Harishchandra”, “BMC” and “Mahalakshmi” that he mumbled, D’Souza began the mammoth task of finding the family.

“After a lot of effort, D’Souza found his [Shrivardhankar’s] brother, who lives in Mahalaxmi. He gave us further details about his son, who stays in Kalyan,” says Timothy Gaikwad, a school friend of D’Souza and who runs an organisation, IMCares, which helps the destitute. D’Souza’s friends found out via news reports that their man was a 26/11 survivor.

“A man who was lauded by everyone then was now lying helpless,” says Gaikwad.

Gaikwad got in touch with the Mumbai Police, who then contacted Shrivardhankar’s family in Kalyan. The family had lodged a missing complaint at the local station and said that Shrivardhankar had been missing for two months. Mahesh Shinde, public relations officer at the Gamdevi police station, says, “We have immense workload these days, but it was our duty to help this man. It took a lot of co-ordination with different teams.”

D’Souza, after he found Shrivardhankar, gave him a hot-water bath, got a barber to cut his hair and got a set of clothes from Shrivardhankar’s brother before he was sent to his family.

“The scene was one to be seen. Four or five cars came in and the senior policemen said that let Shrivardhankar decide which car he wants to travel in. They also gave a special pass to his son to travel to Mumbai to take him back,” Gaikwad says.

According to the 2010 HT report, Shrivardhankar had developed a speech problem after his near-death encounter.