26/11 witness denied admission in Mumbai school

An 11-year-old girl, the youngest witness to depose before the court in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case, was on Monday denied admission in a private school which fears that it would become a terror target if she was admitted.

An 11-year-old girl, the youngest witness to depose before the court in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case, was on Monday denied admission in a private school which fears that it would become a terror target if she was admitted.

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"My daughter (Devika Rotwan) has been denied admission in New English High School at suburban Bandra. School authorities say they may face a terror threat as my daughter had deposed as a witness in the 26/11 case," her father Natwarlal Rotwan, a businessman, said on Monday night.

The minor girl was injured in firing at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on the night of November 26, 2008. She had identified Ajmal Kasab who went on a firing spree at the railway station, in the court.

"Initially the school authorities said they will give her admission in Class V. But later they asked us to submit a letter, along with the admission form, from the government stating that my daughter was injured during the terror attack and should be given admission in the school," he said.

"We were trying to get the letter and in the meantime requested the school management to give admission. The school authorities made me do endless rounds and today they bluntly refused to give admission citing security concerns," he said.