High court blast toll goes up to 14

The Buxi family was hoping for a miracle, although the family priest had informed them that September 15 would be a critical day for Mridul Buxi, 34, and he may die on Thursday.

The Buxi family was hoping for a miracle, although the family priest had informed them that September 15 would be a critical day for Mridul Buxi, 34, and he may die on Thursday.

The Buxi family’s eight-day-long tussle between hope in doctors and belief in the family priest ended on Thursday morning. Mridul became the 14th victim whose life was claimed by the Delhi high court blast.

Mridul, who was responding well to treatment till Wednesday morning, died of multiple organ failure. With her five-month-old son Ritesh clinging to her, Mridul’s wife Rajni, couldn’t control her outburst. All her prayers had gone in vain. Even the best of doctors couldn’t save her husband’s life. His funeral was held amid heavy rain on Thursday afternoon.

“He used to drive rashly. That day also, I thought, he must have injured himself in a road accident. But it turned out to be a blast. He recently had a baby boy through IVF,” said an inconsolable Vinod, Mridul’s brother.

Mridul, who was working as a salesman with a tiles company, was hardly 15 metres away from his boss Sanjeev Kohli when the blast took place. He was there for a hearing of case related to Kohli, who was lucky enough to escape the explosion. A kite flying enthusiast, Mridul was a social person who loved to spend a lot of time with friends and cousins. “We never had morning tea together. But on September 7, we ate breakfast together before he left for work on his scooter,” added Vinod.