Finally, serial blast eye witness in safe house

NEW DELHI: All of 11 years old, he gave the city police the first lead in the investigations into Saturday's serial blasts. But that has not changed anything for Rohit (name changed), the balloon seller, said to have spotted the Barakhamba Road bombers.
His makeshift accommodation, a torn tent in a west Delhi slum is as ramshackle as it always was. He shares it with his aunt and eight other cousins."Rohit lost his mother years ago and his father does not stay here. His father, Rohit and three of my children sell balloons at traffic signals to run this household," says the aunt. She herself does odd jobs in nearby houses and is expecting another child. With the earnings of these five people, three households are run - those of Rohit's aunt, father and grandmother.
After Rohit spotted the bombers at Barakhamba Road on Saturday evening, he was taken away by the police for questioning and for preparing sketches of the suspects. On Tuesday, he was released and sent home, allegedly without any police protection which he is entitled to being a witness. "Since he returned on Tuesday morning, he has been petrified. We asked him about what he saw, but he did not say anything to us and just sat in a corner quietly," said the aunt.
After the police drew flak for letting Rohit out without protection despite the fact that his life may be in grave danger, he was again taken away on Wednesday night, 36 hours after he returned home. "We had been searching for him all day and finally found out that he was taken to Connaught Place police station, but we were not allowed to meet him," said the father.
"Police say Rohit's life may be in danger, but why didn't they think of that when they sent him home just like that. I had been searching for him all day. I even went to Salaam Balak Trust at New Delhi railway station, where he used to study till about a few weeks ago when he lived with his grandmother near Hanuman Mandir in CP. We were so worried," said the father.
According to police sources, Rohit was taken to an undisclosed location. When asked why he was released without any protection despite being a witness, a senior police officer said, "We took all precautionary measures after his legal guardian, his grandmother, asked the police to ensure his safety. We had posted plainclothes cops around his residence so that they could keep an eye on him without attracting undue attention. We took him away only to be doubly sure of his safety." He added that Rohit had helped them in drawing the sketches of the suspects and, thus, was later allowed to go home.
Rohit may be safe, but for his family it means one of the earning members is off work. "He used to go to sell balloons by 2.30 pm and return only past 11. He used to work very hard. His not being there has dented our finances badly. I had heard he would get Rs 50,000 as reward but that too is nowhere in sight," said the father.
He is in for some more disappointment. There is no such reward on the anvil.
toireporter@timesgroup.com