Waiter’s body lies unclaimed

Five days after he died in the bomb blast at German Bakery, waiter Gokul Nepali’s (27) body continues to lie in the morgue at Sassoon Hospital.

Five days after he died in the bomb blast at German Bakery, waiter Gokul Nepali’s (27) body continues to lie in the morgue at Sassoon Hospital.

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Gokul’s mother was on her way to Pune to claim his body but fell ill and had to be admitted to a hospital in Bihar.

Dilip Vishwakarma, president of Nepali Social Organisation of India, told Hindustan Times that attempts to contact the Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi were futile.

“Representatives of all countries rushed to Pune to help their citizens, except Nepal. Why this is happening?” he asked. “The Nepal government should not forget that 25 per cent of its economy is dependent upon the Nepalese working in India.”

A delegation of the Nepali Social Organisation of India met Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh on Wednesday. Singh has assured them that he will take up the issue with the relevant authorities, Vishwakarma said. The organisation wants the authorities to ensure Gokul’s body is handed over to his legal heirs so that nobody claims compensation fraudulently.

There are at least 50,000 Nepalese living in Pune. German Bakery employed more than 50 of them. After the blast killed Gokul and injured five other Nepali employees of the bakery, the others want to return to Nepal. “All of them are so scared that they have taken shelter in some unknown place,” Vishwakarma said.

Obama calls PM, condemns blast

US President Barack Obama on Thursday spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and condemned last week’s blast in Pune.

In the brief telephonic conversation, Obama condoled the loss of lives, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said. “The two leaders took the opportunity to review developments in Indo-US relations,” the statement added. HTC