When she was a
small girl, her mother used to tie her shoe laces -- first a knot, then a loop, a second
loop, and finally another knot. "There! Easy, isn't it?" Ma would ask, and chuck
little Jayabala under the chin. Now, 20 years later, Premilaben ties bandages around two
raw, livid stumps, just under her daughter's knees. The old woman's hands tremble ever so
slightly, but the girl smiles, holding her chin up to take on the world.
In a way, 23-year-old Jayabala
Asher is a metaphor for Mumbai: a resilient young woman who fought bravely against urban
violence -- and survived to tell the tale. By now, it's a well-known saga: a vulnerable
girl on her way to college, a lonely train compartment, the young mugger who accosted her,
Jayabala's refusal to give in -- and the ensuing scuffle while three fellow passengers
looked on. Then, incensed by her brazen courage, the man flew into a rage and threw her
off the running train.
The next morning it was front-page
news: coffee, cornflakes and a girl, with her legs chopped off, lying on a blood-soaked
surgical bed. After a year of gang wars, extortion threats, robberies and brutal murders,
that single, despairing image sent a chill down the city's spine.
At the downtown Nair Hospital,
politicians and VIPs flocked to Jayabala's bed with beautiful bouquets and handsome
cheques. And thousands of humbler citizens streamed in, complete strangers who had somehow
found time to whisper words of comfort into her parents' ears.
Two months after the grisly
incident, the culprit is still "untraceable". The police believe he was probably
a drug addict in need of cash. Jayabala is yesterday's news. Meanwhile, there is the
tedious task of struggling through today. "But it's not too bad," she says.
Besides, the doctor has promised that she will walk again -- with a pair of artificial
feet.
"When I was a little girl, my
mother taught me to make the best of what life offered." She also taught Jayabala how
to tie her laces. But that is one skill her daughter will never use.
-- Farah Baria
GREED AND ARROGANCE
SAMEER KAPOOR, 21: A
Delhi school dropout, he was fond of good life-snooker, jacuzzi, fast cars and a string of
girlfriends. Alleged to have killed a friend's mother and sister after looting the house
of cash and jewellery.
AMAN BENIWAL, 20:
Nephew of a Haryana MLA, he led a lavish lifestyle. Following a brawl outside a Chandigarh
cinema hall, he reportedly forced his personal gunman to shoot a gatekeeper at point-blank
range.
NAMAN MISHRA,
23: A Mumbai MBA, he squandered a
brilliant academic career looking to make a quick buck in crime to finance his plans to
set up business. He allegedly posed as a Dawood agent and tried to extort Rs 10 lakh from
an affluent family the plan failed.
SANJAY LAKRA, 26: A rich farmer's son, he liked new cars and
expensive hotels. He his gang abducted and raped four girls. Also accused of murdering the
Samata Party candidate just before last year's assembly polls.
PUSHPINDER, 25: He was thrown out of his civil engineering
institute in Bharatpur for violently beating up a senior who tried to rag him. Soon after,
he formed his own gang, which the police claim has carried out 98 murders and dacoities
across Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
When she was a
small girl, her mother used to tie her shoe laces -- first a knot, then a loop, a second
loop, and finally another knot. "There! Easy, isn't it?" Ma would ask, and chuck
little Jayabala under the chin. Now, 20 years later, Premilaben ties bandages around two
raw, livid stumps, just under her daughter's knees. The old woman's hands tremble ever so
slightly, but the girl smiles, holding her chin up to take on the world. 
SAMEER KAPOOR, 21: A
Delhi school dropout, he was fond of good life-snooker, jacuzzi, fast cars and a string of
girlfriends. Alleged to have killed a friend's mother and sister after looting the house
of cash and jewellery. 
NAMAN MISHRA,
23: A Mumbai MBA, he squandered a
brilliant academic career looking to make a quick buck in crime to finance his plans to
set up business. He allegedly posed as a Dawood agent and tried to extort Rs 10 lakh from
an affluent family the plan failed. 
PUSHPINDER, 25: He was thrown out of his civil engineering
institute in Bharatpur for violently beating up a senior who tried to rag him. Soon after,
he formed his own gang, which the police claim has carried out 98 murders and dacoities
across Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. 
