Unaware of friend’s death, boy hopes to see him soon

Lying alone in the male orthopedic ward with a fractured hand and bruised knees, 15-year-old Ashutosh Robert still doesn’t know that his childhood friend died in yesterday's accident, reports Puja Changoiwala.

Lying alone in the male orthopedic ward with a fractured hand and bruised knees, 15-year-old Ashutosh Robert still doesn’t know that his childhood friend died in Tuesday’s accident.

The teen, who is recovering at Cooper hospital, says he doesn’t remember what happened and that that when he woke up, he was in the hospital.

“It was like a nightmare. When I woke up, my brother was next to me. He told me that my friends and I had met with an accident. They [Isub Khan, 16, and Malik Shaikh, 15] haven’t come to meet me yet. My mother said I have the most injuries and because they are bruised as well, they are at home and will see me later,” said Robert, a Class 9 student.

Francis D’mello, 46, Ashutosh’s uncle, said they had not informed the boy of Khan’s death as he may go into shock.

“He is already very disturbed because of the accident. He does not remember anything and keeps asking about his friends. But there is no option but to hide the truth from him,” said D’mello, a Khar resident who works as a carpenter.

Robert, Khan and Shaikh are childhood friends and live in the same neighbourhood at JVPD in Juhu, Vile Parle (West).

Robert lives with his elder brother and parents — his mother is a housewife and his father runs a grocery store. Shaikh, who recently appeared for his Class 10 exam, lost his father seven years ago and lives with his elder brother and his mother, who works as a school teacher.

The deceased, Khan, is survived by his parents and three elder sisters. His father works as a real estate agent.

When asked about the accident, Robert struggled to remember. “I don’t know. I told the same thing to the policemen,” he said.

The teen had to appear for his social studies examination on Wednesday, but couldn’t because of his injuries. “A classmate told our principal about the accident and she organised a prayer for the three of us. As soon as we all are fine, we will go meet our friends at school,” he said.