Ayesha Nurul Hasan Shikalgar, 31, is six months pregnant. She and her husband Nurul were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their baby towards the end of the year. Instead, Ayesha, a junior advocate, is struggling to deal with shock, grief, and loss now.
On the evening of September 10, Nurul, 31, a civil engineer, left home to offer the final prayer of the day at the mosque, just a 10-minute walk from home, in Pusesavali town in Satara district, Maharashtra. Pusesavali is home to about 10,000 people, of which 500 are Muslim.
“Around 9 p.m., a mob of 70-80 unidentified people descended upon the town,” say eyewitnesses who do not wish to be identified. “Their faces were obscured, and the number plates of their motorcycles hidden. The mob began to chant anti-Islam slogans and set ablaze vehicles and establishments close to the mosque.” Ayesha’s father, Mohammed Hanif Adambhai Shaikh, a farmer, says about 15-20 devotees, including Nurul, sought refuge in the mosque, the only one in Pusesavali.
