Toll rises to 24, first victim of Dadar blast

Rinku Vishwakarma had to be helped out from outside ward 33 at KEM Hospital by relatives. The 27-year-old nearly went limp after being told of the death of her husband, Mankeshwar Vishwarkarma, on Monday morning as he succumbed to a severe head injury.

Rinku Vishwakarma had to be helped out from outside ward 33 at KEM Hospital by relatives. The 27-year-old nearly went limp after being told of the death of her husband, Mankeshwar Vishwarkarma, on Monday morning as he succumbed to a severe head injury. Vishwakarma suffered the injury in the explosion at Kabutar Khana, Dadar on July 13. He became the 24th victim to have died in the triple blasts, and the first casualty of the Dadar blast.

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"His wife Rinku is limp and has not spoken a word since she heard of her husband's demise. Their one-year-old child, Soni, is running high fever," said Sonam, a neighbour who has been by Rinku's side for the past two weeks, ever since Mankeshwar was admitted to hospital.

Twenty-eight-year-old Mankeshwar was a carpenter bases in Sion. On July 13, he went to Dadar to buy some plywood for an assignment he was working on. "While leaving, he wanted to take his year-old daughter along with him. Fortunately, he did not," Sonam said. "Usually, he never kissed his daughter before leaving the house. But on that day, he took her in his arms, and even bought her some biscuits."

He suffered a severe head injury in the explosion at Dadar, and parts of the skull pierced his brain. He slipped into coma that evening. Doctors at KEM hospital operated on him but failed to revive him. "We tried our best but he did not gain consciousness," said Dr Praveen Bangar from the hospital. On Monday evening, the body was handed over to the relatives after a post-mortem. Mankeshwar was the only victim of the blast at the hospital who was in a critical state.