MUSSOORIE: It has been 22 years since the police firing killed at least six persons in Mussoorie during the movement for creation of Uttarakhand.
People of the hill state remember September 2 as one of the darkest days of Uttarakhand movement.
The memories of the ill-fated day are still fresh in the minds of those who witnessed the stir or were part of it.
Rai Singh Bangari, an employee of Mussoorie Municipal Council, was the first man to be shot when the police opened fire at agitators in Jhoola Ghar area of Mussoorie.
He dropped at the road and died. His son, Ravi Bangari, still feels the pain of his father’s loss.
Two women were among six persons who were shot dead in the tourist town during a protest against the firing in Khatima a day before.
Seven persons were killed in the Khatima firing. It was also the first time in the history of Mussoorie that a curfew was clamped in the peaceful town.
Suhasini Barthwal was among the agitators when the firing took place.
“I was with my children like a lot of other women who had joined the procession that day.
“Schools were regularly participating in the agitation for statehood. The only change that day was that it was a rather big crowd and all were angered by the firing in Khatima. We began the march from Anupam Hotel in Landour. But soon stone pelting started. In fact, even when the first bullet was fired, we thought it was a rubber bullet till we finally saw Bangari JI bleed and fall. Soon it was mayhem everywhere.”
Lawyer Rajendra Panwar, who narrowly escaped death after a bullet hit him, remembers how he looked at his blood soaked hands, almost not believing what he saw.
"I felt a big punch of sorts. I was wearing thick jacket and when I touched the place where I thought I felt the punch, I saw blood. The next morning I was shaken by a doctor in the hospital asking me my blood group. Today, years ago, that day is still fresh in my head,” he says.
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