Friends, colleagues first to help

From a black wallet, the police fished out nine lottery tickets of Rs5 lakh each on Wednesday night. The lottery tickets had been purchased last week.

From a black wallet, the police fished out nine lottery tickets of Rs5 lakh each on Wednesday night. The lottery tickets had been purchased last week. But fate had something else in store for the man whose wallet failed to give the police any hint of his identity.

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The unidentified man’s body was found at the Zaveri Bazaar blast site and his body is at GT Hospital.

At least 12 people were killed and 60 injured in two explosions that took place in the densely populated area. Khangaram Prajapati, 47, an accountant with a goods trading firm, was making ledger entries in his office about 50 metres from the Khau Gully when the explosion shattered the windowpanes of the building. Prajapati was found lying in a pool of blood. “He has severely injured his legs and there are deep wounds on his head,” said Jayantilal Prajapati, his cousin. Prajapati’s collegues rushed him to Bombay Hospital.

Moments after the news of the blasts flashed on television, Prajapati’s wife, who lives in Rajasthan, called on his cell phone. The person who answered identified himself as a doctor.

“Nobody is telling us about his status,” said Jayantilal.

In the adjacent lane, Nikhil Tamka, 25, a gold dealer, was chatting with a friend outside his office. Suddenly, something threw him on the ground. In a state of shock Tamka saw blood trickling down his shoes. Minutes later his brother-in-law, Bipin Jain, who works in the same building, ran out for help. “It felt like earthquake tremors,” said Jain. Doctors at Bombay Hospital said Tamka was out of danger.

Kamal Doloi, 28, who works in gold polishing unit, burnt his arm. He had stepped out of his unit when the blast happened. He managed to return to the factory after which his friend took him to hospital. His family in West Bengal is panicking. “When his wife heard the news on television, she called his friend as Kamal does not have a phone. He told her Kamal was injured.

“She is begging us to let him speak to her so she knows he is alive,” said Kamal’s friend, Prashant Mahite.