When we were attacked in a train

A Page from the personal Diary of Himmanshoo Malhotra There are several incidents that are etched in my mind but I don’t want to remember those. However this one particular incident is something that gives me goosebumps even today. I was travelling from Solar to Delhi, when my train got hijacked. This was in 1993 when I was studying in college and I was pretty much into cricket. I was travelling with my family and at Panipat station the train came to a halt. We had started the journey around 12 noon and we reached Panipat at 8 pm. About 10 minutes later, we heard shrieks and people screaming. Around 10 people had entered our compartment with guns and swords with the intention of robbery. We were around eight people and none of us knew what to do. Everyone was scared and screaming for help. The person sitting on the first seat was stabbed just to create panic. They started asking for everyone’s jewellery and cash. My mother was wearing a lot of it and my father very smartly asked her to remove it and throw it in the dustbin under the seat. When they came to us and checked we just had about Rs 2000 on us which we handed over to them. However, there was this one point when I didn’t know how to react. One of the men held a gun at me and demanded money. I had around Rs 1000 with me and I gave him the wallet but I asked him to return my driving license back to me. He took the cash and threw the wallet on my face. The men stayed back for about 30 minutes even though we tried pulling chains and screaming for help, not much happened. The police arrived but there was nothing much they could do since the damage was already done. I am just thanking God and my stars that nothing happened to my parents and we reached Delhi safe and sound.