‘We identified him by his t-shirt’: Kin of Delhi blast victim

Victims of the Red Fort explosion include Delhi workers, daily earners, and traders — men whose families now face loss and uncertainty.

A resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli, Ansari was in Delhi to procure items for his shop when the explosion in front of Red Fort killed him. He was the sole breadwinner of the family. “He visited old Delhi regularly to buy supplies for his shop. He was accompanied by his cousin Amaan, who was injured,” said his uncle Furqan. An acquaintance, Virasat, who dropped them off at Chandni Chowk, grew worried when the two didn’t return to the pick up spot for over an hour. “I decided to go to Chandni Chowk but noticed lots of police and barricading near Red Fort. People told me there had been a blast,” said Virasat. At the LNJP mortuary, his father Imran fainted as he identified his son’s body. “He was running the household. Who will take care of this family now?” asked a relative.

Father of Noman, who died in the blast near Red Fort, outside a mortuary at Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

For 20 hours, Jumman’s family desperately searched for him – at the hospital, the mortuary, and the area around Red Fort – and hoped he had somehow escaped unhurt. On Tuesday evening, they found his mangled body under a sheet at the Lok Nayak hospital mortuary. Survived by his handicapped wife and their children, Jumman lived in Delhi’s Shastri Park and was the sole breadwinner. “We saw the news of the blast on TV and started calling him. His e-rickshaw was GPS enabled, and the last known location was outside Red Fort, so we rushed there but didn’t find him,” said his griefstricken uncle Mohammad Idris. Tired and clueless they returned home on Tuesday only to be called back to the hospital to identify a body. “His legs were missing and body badly damaged. We identified him through his T-shirt… Who will look after his children now? An entire family has been destroyed,” said Idris.

It was only when TV flashed a photo of a mangled Wagon R car on at the blast site on Monday night did Saini’s family realise that he was, perhaps, one of the victims. Their worst fears came true on Tuesday morning when they identified his body at the mortuary. A taxi driver, Saini hailed from Bihar’s Samastipur, and lived in Chhawla in Delhi. “He had picked up a passenger from the Old Delhi railway station and was en route when the blast took place. We last spoke to him on Monday afternoon. We never imagined it would be our last call,” said his father, who got to know about the blast around 9 pm. He added, “He often ferried passengers from the railway station and took that route. I started calling him but his phone was switched off. I hoped he had survived but then TV flashed a photo of the car and I knew he was gone,” said his father.

“Mom my first love” and “Dad my strength” – these two tattoos on Kataria’s arms were what helped his family identify his body at the mortuary on Monday night. Survived by his wife and their three-year-old child, Kataria was a well-known figure in Chandni Chowk, who ran DV Medicos at Bhagirath Place. “He would catch the metro to his home in Sriniwaspuri near East of Kailash every evening. This was supposed to be another routine day… In fact, he left early on Monday because he was going out for dinner with his family,” said his business partner, as he finished formalities at the hospital. Praveen Khandelwal, Chandni Chowk MP, tweeted, “The news of the demise of our businessman brother Shri Amar Kataria (DV Medicos, Bhaghirath Palace) in the Chandni Chowk explosion is extremely heartbreaking. I pray for the peace of the departed soul and express my deepest condolences to the bereaved family.”

It was supposed to be a long-awaited reunion of two friends – one, a DTC bus conductor in Delhi, and another, a fertiliser seller in UP’s Amroha on a quick Delhi visit. Fate had other plans, and both were killed in the blast, as Kumar picked up Agarwal from the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening. “He lived in Jagatpuri in Delhi with his wife and their four children, and not only took care of them but also his brother’s family. His body was unrecognisable. We identified with the help of his DTC ID card,” said Kumar’s relative. A DTC official confirmed that Kumat was a bus conductor but was not on duty at the time. Agarwal, meanwhile, had come to Delhi to visit an ailing relative at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and decided to take out a few hours to catch up with his old friend. “He only reached on Monday morning and told us that he was going to meet his friend… We never imagined this,” said Agarwal’s brother, Sonu. He is survived by his wife and their three children.

Survived by his wife and their three children, Mishra – a native of Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh – had been living in Delhi for 12 years, and worked at a card shop on Chawri Bazaar to make ends meet. On Monday evening, he was crossing the road when the blast took place, said his brother Guddu Mishra. “I started calling him at 8 pm but there was no response. At 11.15 pm, we got a call from someone asking us to rush to Lok Nayak hospital. At first, we weren’t allowed to enter… I went from one corner to the other till 3 am and begged the hospital staff to let me see the dead bodies. Finally, I found his body in the mortuary,” he said.

It was only two years ago that Malik moved to Delhi from UP’s Meerut in search of better job opportunities, and soon began plying an e-rickshaw. On Monday, he was ferrying passengers and was at the ill-fated red light when the explosion occurred. “It’s such a tragedy for our family. We kept looking for him everywhere and were informed at 2 am Tuesday that his body has been found. He lived in Delhi with his wife and children -- who will take care of them now?” asked his relative, outside his Meerut house.