Delhi blast: ‘I ran over to find him lying bleeding near his rickshaw’

Some of those caught in the chaos barely had time to think — an auto driver, bleeding from his stomach, drove himself to hospital;

The blast near Red Fort on Monday evening tore through the city’s calm, left behind not just smoke and sirens, but also lives upended in an instant. Some of those caught in the chaos barely had time to think — an auto driver, bleeding from his stomach, drove himself to hospital; another man called his brother once before collapsing beside his mangled e-rickshaw. A factory worker on his bike gasped, “Cylinder fat gaya hai,” before the line went dead. Outside hospitals, families pressed against barricades and glass doors, waiting for names to be called. In the bright glare of ambulance lights, Delhi stood once again between disbelief and endurance.

Mangled remains of the vehicles at the site. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

Avdhesh Mandal, 40

As the blast ripped through the air, autorickshaw driver Avdhesh Mandal did not wait for help. With a shard of metal lodged in his abdomen and his shirt soaked in blood, he climbed into his own vehicle and drove himself to Sushruta Medical Centre, more than four kilometres away. “All injured were taken to Lok Nayak Hospital — except Mandal, who drove himself,” said a police officer at the hospital.

Hailing from Bihar and living in south Delhi’s Nehru Nagar, Mandal shares a rented flat with close friends, six of whom rushed to the hospital upon hearing the news. “He must have told someone to call us before going into surgery,” said Sanjeet Kumar, one of his flatmates. As Mandal underwent an operation, his friends and family waited outside, restless and uncertain. “We have not been able to meet him yet,” Kumar said. “His family back home is waiting for news from us.”

Azad Alam, 34

E-rickshaw driver Azad Alam was ferrying four passengers from Kashmere Gate when the explosion turned the road into chaos. Shards of glass and metal tore into his thigh, face and abdomen. Minutes later, dazed and bleeding, he somehow managed to call his brother.

“I was only 500 metres away,” recalled Sarfaraz, who sells masks on a nearby cart. “I ran and found him lying near his rickshaw.” With the help of bystanders, Sarfaraz rushed his brother to the hospital.

Outside the emergency ward, as doctors worked inside, Sarfaraz stood waiting. “We’re not allowed to meet him,” he said softly. “I’ve told our parents… they’re waiting for news too.”

Mohammad Daud, 30

A machine operator with a private goods company, Mohammad Daud was on his Honda Shine motorbike when the blast ripped through the evening traffic. His sister, Musarrat Ansari, received his call at 7.22pm — brief and panicked. “He said, “Accident ho gaya, cylinder fat gaya hai, Lal Quila aa jao (There has been an accident. A cylinder has exploded, please come to Red Fort)”,’” she recalled at Lok Nayak Hospital, clutching her phone as she waited for news on her brother.

Daud was on his way from Loni in Ghaziabad to Jama Masjid to buy supplies for his company. Doctors told the family he had suffered injuries to his back and leg. “We don’t know how he is doing now,” Musarrat said softly. “He hasn’t spoken since that call.”

Sameer Khan, 23

Auto driver Sameer Khan had ended his day’s duty and was on his way to meet his younger brother when the blast struck. A few minutes later, his brother Javed received a call from an unknown number. “The person said Sameer was in the ICU at Lok Nayak Hospital with burns to his face,” Javed recalled.

By the time he reached there, the hospital corridors were in chaos — doctors rushing between wards, security tightening for VIP visits, anxious families pushing against barricades. “We don’t know where his auto is or what happened to his belongings,” Javed said, standing near the ICU entrance. “I just want to see my brother… I hope he’s fine.”

Mohammad Safwan, 28

In Delhi from Chennai on a short work trip, Mohammad Safwan was travelling towards Kashmere Gate from a transport office when the blast struck. The impact threw him off the rickshaw he was riding. “He called us using someone else’s phone and said he was injured,” his father told HT. “He reached the hospital on his own and has hurt his legs. He’s stable — that’s all we know so far.”

Safwan’s family waited outside the hospital through the night, unsure which ward he had been moved to. “He sounded frightened, but calm,” his father said. “He just told us not to worry.”

Ankush Sharma, 28

Ankush Sharma and his friend Rahul Kaushik, residents of Shahdara, were returning home after visiting the Gauri Shankar temple when the blast went off. Outside the hospital, Ankush’s father stood by the barricades, pleading with security personnel to let him in. “How can they not let a father see his injured son?” he asked, his voice breaking.

He said he had received a call around 8pm from an unknown number informing him that Ankush was among the injured. “My son’s phone has been out of reach since then, and the person who called is not answering,” he said, staring at the hospital gate. “I don’t know what to do.”