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Ludhiana court blast eyewitnesses recount horror
Until about noon, it was a regular day at the Ludhiana courts complex-- harried litigants walking along the corridors, advocates going about their work, some catching up with their colleagues over a cup of tea
Until about noon, it was a regular day at the Ludhiana courts complex-- harried litigants walking along the corridors, advocates going about their work, some catching up with their colleagues over a cup of tea. In a matter of few seconds, their world was blown apart.
There was smoke and dust all around. Shards of glass lay on the floor.
“I saw two women and a photostat machine tossed in the air,” recounts Harjot Singh Harike, former vice president of District Bar Association (DBA), who was merely 50-ft away from the spot where the explosion took place on Thursday.
“For a few seconds, I was numb. I failed to understand what was going on. But after a minutes as the dust settled, I saw my friend, advocate KS Mand, trapped under the debris,” says Harike, who managed to quickly take stock of the situation and help rush the injured, including his friend, to the hospital.
Charanjit Kaur Sekhon, another advocate, who had just passed by the washroom where the explosion took place, said, “We heard the explosion and suddenly people were running helter-skelter. There were shards of glass from the window panes all around and smoke and dust had covered the whole floor.”
Another advocate, Manu, who had been talking to one of the injured Sandeep Kaur, 31, while recounting the horror said, “We were sipping tea close to the blast site. After a while I started walking back to my chamber on the fourth floor. I was in the stairway when the blast went off. There was chaos all around. I rushed back and saw Sandeep injured.”
Sandeep suffered critical injuries on her head and legs. From her hospital bed, she said, “All I can remember is that I was using the Photostat machine when I heard a loud explosion. When I gained consciousness some time later, some people were taking me to the hospital.”
Another injured Sharanjit Kaur, 25, who had come with her sister, for the hearing of a civil case in a courtroom situated on the second floor of the building said, “We reached the court around noon. We were moving towards the courtroom on the second floor when the blast took place.” Sharanjit had suffered a blackout after the blast. Her sister Gurpreet Kaur was among the injured.
Sandeep and Sharanjit are undergoing treatment at the Ludhiana civil hospital. Civil surgeon SP Singh said both women are out of danger.
The other injured are Manish Kumar (32), a resident of Police Colony Jamalpur, who is undergoing treatment at Christian Medical College and Hospital, Kuldeep Singh Mand, 50, of Bindra Ban Road who is admitted at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) and Krishan Khanna, 75, who is also at DMCH.
Close shave for some
Sudhir Kumar, a resident of Jalandhar, who had a close shave said, “I had come to the court with my son to see a lawyer. As the lawyers were on strike, we decided to return. Minutes before the bomb went off, I had been on the second floor. When I heard the explosion, I though some LPG gas cylinder had exploded in the canteen.
“I thank God for another lease of life and also pray for the speedy recovery of the injured victims,” he added.
Gurman Singh, who drafts legal documents in a room on the second floor, said he had stepped out of the courts complex to have tea when the blast took place.
“The spot where the blast took place is usually very busy. You can find most of us moving around for work. But fortunately, we managed to step out on time. The police and administration must increase security arrangement at such crowded places,” he said.
