On the morning of February 27, 2002, a traumatised and scared 12-year-old Gyanprakash Chaurasiya made a frantic call to his elder brother, Arvind. Gyanprakash and his parents—Lallanprasad and mother Jankiben—had suffered burnt injuries, while his four-year-old maternal nephew, Rushabh, had succumbed when the Sabarmati Express from Kanpur they were travelling in had been torched at the Godhra Railway Station.
“More than 22 years have passed by and I still remember the phone call,” said Arvind, who runs a photocopy shop in Ramol area of Ahmedabad.
The Chaurasiya family was treated in the Civil hospital for 16 days. At the time both the Gujarat government and the Railways had announced compensation for those who sustained injuries and had died in the 2002 Godhra train fire. “Though we got the compensation announced by the Railways, we were not considered for compensation by the state government,” Arvind said.
The family realised it would be a long fight for the compensation that would test their patience and courage. “We contacted every person concerned and departments which had a role to play in releasing the compensation, but in vain,” Arvind said.
On August 16, 2022, the family received a letter from the office of the City Deputy Collector (East) and the sub-divisional magistrate’s office that according to the 2002 and 2007 notifications issued by the revenue department of the state government, the family had not received the compensation and they are legally entitled to it. The letter mentioned that the family had submitted all necessary proof and hence was entitled to compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh to the three members of the family who sustained burn injuries and a total of Rs 4 lakh for the deceased.
“We have received the compensation letter but we still have to follow it up with the collector’s office,” said Arvind.
