After a five-year legal battle, 26-year-old Devika Rotawan gets a Mhada house. The Bombay High Court intervened, ensuring justice for the terror attack survivor.
On June 5, 2025, Devika Rotawan, the youngest survivor of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, was allotted a Mhada house in Mumbai after a five-year legal struggle. Now 26, Devika was nine when she was shot in the leg at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on November 26, 2008, during the attack that killed 166 people. As a key witness, she identified terrorist Ajmal Kasab in court, helping secure his conviction. Her family, living in a cramped Bandra East rental, faced financial hardship, prompting her to seek housing under the EWS quota.
Devika first approached the Bombay High Court in 2020, and after multiple rejections, the court in March 2024 directed the state to address her plea with sensitivity, recognizing her as a terror attack survivor and witness. The court’s intervention led to the state housing minister approving her request, culminating in the allotment on June 5, 2025. Devika, a BA graduate from Chetana College in 2023, aspires to become a police officer to combat terrorism.
This victory marks a new chapter for Devika, who met UN Secretary-General António Guterres in 2022 to share her story. Her perseverance highlights the need for better support for terror attack survivors as of June 6, 2025.
