It's almost as if Lal Mohammed Jumman Hakim is in a trance. He can recite the residence and office phone numbers of dozens of politicians, bureaucrats and activists — people he has pursued over the last decade. Hakim’s mind throbs with the memory of his 24-year-old son Abdul Hakim, a fruit vendor who vanished during an acid attack in a godown at Masjid Bunder.On Monday, 15 families whose relatives went missing during the 1992-93 riots and bombings were summoned to receive their compensation cheques. But what about the rest? After all, there are about 100 families who never saw their kin again.According to the Maharashtra government, many families have migrated. The remaining cannot afford the bond.Says 66-year-old Hakim: ‘‘Police inquiry squads came to my house more than six times to take down details. The Collector’s Office and Mantralaya are daily haunts for me and everyone knows me. They all assure me I will get compensation. Nothing happens.’’Hakim has all the documents, from a ration card to a permanent address, but he changed his signature from Hindi to English in the last decade. No one advised him otherwise and he has been put through interminable nit-picking. Hakim also does not have the Rs 6,250 for the indemnity bond that the families must pay after the court ruled that there should be some state security in case missing persons were found.The family of Ansar Ali Khan (24), who went missing on December 8, 1992, has a similar tale. ‘‘My wife saw my son being shot in the leg by a group of policemen, who barged into our house at the Govandi dumping ground at Bainganwadi. As she cried to stop them from dragging our son away, the butt of a policeman’s rifle slammed into her face and there is a gaping hole in her front teeth. It has affected her so much that she has gone mad,’’ says an expressionless Bappan Khan, an agarbatti vendor. ‘‘Why have we been ignored,’’ he asks.He now resides in a chawl in Kurla. But he had registered his case promptly on December 8, 1992, after his son was dragged in full view of eye-witnesses by police. His name has also been accepted for compensation by all quarters, from the Srikrishna Commission Report to high court affidavits.
