’I won’t sell 26/11 car, as it saved my son’s life’

Ramesh Arasa considers his Skoda 'lucky', as terrorists did not harm his son Sharan, when they hijacked the car from him on Nov 26

'I won't sell 26/11 car, as it saved my son's life'

Ramesh Arasa considers his Skoda 'lucky', as terrorists did not harm his son Sharan, when they hijacked the car from him on Nov 26

Ramesh Arasa, the owner of the Skoda Laura that was hijacked by terrorists on the night of November 26,

doesn't want to sell it off.

His son Sharan was in the car then, and while Ajmal Qasab and Ismail Khan killed just about anybody who happened to come in front of them that night, they spared Sharan and only hijacked the car instead.

This bit of luck has not gone unnoticed. Said Ramesh, "I cannot dream of selling my car ever, as it saved my son's life." The car was handed over to Ramesh, who runs an eatery in Andheri, after a directive from the Magistrate's Court on January 23.

Qasab and Ismail were in the same car when the shootout took place at Girgaum Chowpatty, which led to the arrest of Qasab and Ismail being shot dead.

The car is currently under repair at a Skoda garage at Reay Road. It will take nearly a month to carry out all the repairs. Ramesh said the bill for the repairs would come to more than a lakh of rupees, which he is more than willing to bear.

"Whatever money I get from the insurance is fine for me. I will bear the other expenses. I don't want to ask for money from the government or the police."

The police were ordered by the court to return the car on the condition that it could not be sold without the court's permission.

Also, Arasa will have to take the car to court whenever required during the 26/11 trial. How he got his car back
Ramesh had to run from pillar to post to get his car back.

Long process
He said, "I went for the NOC to D B Marg police, as they had caught the car in their area during the encounter, but later it was handed over to Unit 1, Unit 2 and Unit 3 of the crime branch. I had to go through all the units. At last I got the NOC from Unit 3.