AIIMS doctor recalls accident: ‘All of us wanted to see the Taj Mahal during the sunrise’ | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

AIIMS doctor recalls accident: ‘All of us wanted to see the Taj Mahal during the sunrise’

HIndustan Times | By
Mar 21, 2018 04:59 PM IST

We lived in the same PG (paying guest accommodation) and we used to spend most of our time in each others’ rooms. And, often we went out together.

Dr Abhinava Singh, 25

Dr Abhinava Singh, 25, (Left).
Dr Abhinava Singh, 25, (Left).

Junior Resident (Non-Academic), emergency medicine department, AIIMS

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Twice I woke up yesterday, scared. I was thinking about Himbala and realised that she is dead.

We lived in the same PG (paying guest accommodation) and we used to spend most of our time in each others’ rooms. And, often we went out together.

Initially, we thought that it was a minor accident as all of us had broken bones and bruises. Four of us — Catherine, Mahesh and Jitendar and I — were kept together. When we asked about the three of our other friends who weren’t there with us, we were told that they were at a higher centre because they had sustained severe injuries.

It was only in the morning, when we were being moved back to AIIMS that the police came to take our statements and informed us that three of our friends had died. By then, the accident was already in news and we saw a picture of the car, which was mangled.

We had not thought of the accident to be this bad.

That’s when we called our friends at AIIMS and our professors and informed them.

It was Harshad sir’s birthday and he had said that all of us would go out for dinner in the evening. We reached Connaught Place at around 10.15 pm, but we had forgotten that it was a Saturday. There was a one-and-a-half hour waiting time at almost all the places. So, we decided to go to Murthal.

One of us borrowed the car from a relative, and we informed our parents accordingly. Till then, we had not thought of going to Agra. It was only once we were on the road we decided on going to Agra; we thought we would be able to reach there by 5.30-6.00am.

All of us wanted to see the Taj Mahal during the sun rise.

I was very excited, this is the first time that I was going out of town with my friends in Delhi. It has just been two months since I joined AIIMS in mid-January, after I finished my MBBS from a medical college in Guwahati.

We thought of having our dinner on the way at a dhaba. It was around 1:30am. We stayed there for maybe an hour or two, I don’t exactly remember. After we left from the dhaba, the roads were quite empty. We were relaxed and all of us were talking merrily. We never thought something like this could ever happen to us.

I was sitting at the back of the car with Catherine and Himbala, so I did not have a good view of the road. But, suddenly we felt an impact and after that I do not remember much. I must have passed out.

I just remember someone pulling me out of the car, Catherine was lying in an ambulance, I was asked to lie down on the seat next to her. Last I remember of Himbala, she was lying inside the car.

Then, I remember waking up at the hospital. The first thing I did after I was conscious was to call my parents and tell them about the accident.

The two guys sitting in the middle seats had their seat belts on, so they weren’t severely injured. I think they remember what happened, they saw the whole thing. But they haven’t told me anything.

Unveiling 'Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On