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Journalism of Courage
# From mortuary to thana and back, they searched
E-rickshaw driver
When Jumman Khan did not return home on Monday evening, his family was worried. The GPS tracker on the family locator app in his relative’s phone was frozen near the site of the blast. After a sleepless night waiting for him, the family set out to look for him on Tuesday.
Accompanied by her young children and some relatives in an e-rickshaw, Jumman’s wife, who is differently abled, tried the blast spot, the Lok Nayak Hospital Emergency, and the mortuary.
Some of the bodies were still unidentifiable, but none of them appeared to have belonged to Jumman. In despair and frustration, Jumman’s wife, Tanuja, asked, “Koi mota hai, koi patla hai, par mere pati ki body kahaan hai?”
From the mortuary, the family went to Shastri Nagar police station. “The police sent some details to the hospital and the mortuary. We went back to the mortuary at 4 pm,” Jumman’s uncle Muhammad Idris said.
This time, they found Jumman. Only his torso was left, the hands and legs having been blown off in the blast. One of Jumman’s sons recognised his father by the pieces of cloth on the body.
“He was the only breadwinner of the family. Their children are aged 11, 8, and 7. We knew he was at the blast site because his GPS was active till 7 pm,” Idris said.
Red Fort Blast Live Updates November 12
# A father’s silent grief, and a friend who lived
Nauman Ansari (21)
Shopkeeper in Shamli
Nauman Ansari had a small cosmetics shop in his hometown in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district. He would visit Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi every week to purchase goods for his shop. For the past few months, he had another reason to come to Delhi – his brother was ailing, and admitted in Lok Nayak Hospital.
Nauman was accompanied by his friend Aman when the blast took place. Aman survived – and underwent brain surgery on Tuesday.
“We got to know about Nauman around 10 or 11 at night on Monday. He had gone to the market to get supplies for his shop. Both kidneys of his elder brother have failed and he has been in LNJP Hospital for the last six months. His family arrived in Delhi on Tuesday afternoon,” Sonu, a friend from Delhi, said.
At the mortuary, Nauman’s father, flanked by Nauman’s uncles, sat motionless in a chair, his face buried in his hands, trembling occasionally. The rest of the family stood around him, many visibly fighting back tears.
Nauman was the only earning member of the family, Sonu, who stood some distance away, said.
# He drove a cab, had just completed his last trip
Pankaj Saini (22)
Ola cab driver
Pankaj, originally from Samastipur in Bihar, stayed at Kanjhawala in Delhi, and drove a cab part-time. On Monday evening, he had dropped his last passenger for the day at Old Delhi railway station, and was driving home.
“After we heard about the blast around 7.30 pm, we called him several times. Having failed to get through to him, we went to LNJP Hospital, but we could not identify him,” said Ashutosh (25), Pankaj’s cousin.
The family feared the worst after they saw a picture of Pankaj’s car on social media. “Gaadi ki condition dekh kar lag raha tha ki uska bachna bahut mushkil tha,” Ashutosh said. On Tuesday morning, they identified Pankaj’s body at the mortuary.
As Pankaj’s body was brought out on a stretcher, his father, Ram Balak Saini (50), was requested to confirm his son’s identity. The white sheet was lifted – and the body was driven away.
# Three tattoos and a charred face
Amar Kataria (34)
Pharmacist and wholesaler
“Body identified through tattoos,” a message stated on a WhatsApp group run by traders. Soon after came a graphic, carrying the image and name of one of their own. “We have lost Amar Kataria,” it said, undersigned by the Delhi Drugs Traders Association.
A pharmacist and wholesaler, who ran his business from the Jaksan Pal building in Bhagirath Palace, Amar had been among those killed in the blast. “His face was charred beyond recognition… It was the tattoos that helped identify him,” said Ajai, his colleague.
On his arm were the words he used to flaunt with pride — “Mom, my first love. Dad, my strength”. Another tattoo carried the name of his wife, Kriti.
A part of Bhagirath Palace – an electrical goods market in the heart of Chandni Chowk – is home to wholesale pharmacists. Amar’s shop stood on the second floor of the building; shutters were down and the usually crowded corridors empty on Tuesday.
A K Jain, who owns a health equipment shop nearby, was one of the few that opened his shop on Tuesday. “Just yesterday, Amar came here around 4 pm for chai. We all close by 7 pm. Yesterday, he left a little early. I was sitting here with a few others when we heard a loud thud… Minutes later, we learnt there had been a blast near Red Fort. It was much later we heard it had taken one of our own.”
The area’s security guard, Prem Singh, remembered him the same way: “He greeted people with warmth.”
His friend Ajay, who also works in the market, said Amar had shut his shop early because he had dinner plans with his family. “He said he had parked his car near the Red Fort, like always, and would head home from there,” Ajay said.
Amar known for his love of travel and biking, leaves behind his wife and a three-year-old son.
# Lagta hai bas kahin gaye hain… abhi wapas aa jayenge
Dinesh Kumar (36)
Worker at a wedding card shop
At Kaju-Kishmish, a tiny wedding card shop tucked inside the crowded lanes of Chawri Bazaar, the colours of celebration: bright reds, golds, silvers — hang heavy in silence. On any other day, shopkeeper Luv Jain would be helping customers choose cards for their big day. But this evening, he sits behind the counter, his eyes are fixed on a news clip announcing the death of his friend and worker, Dinesh Kumar, one of those killed in the Red Fort blast.
“He had been working with me for 4-5 years… He had called me around 6.30 pm… He must have just stepped out of Red Fort Metro Station to catch an e-rickshaw home, when it happened.”
“…when we realised the matter was serious, I called him thrice. He didn’t pick up. The fourth time, his phone was switched off. That’s when I panicked,” he added.
He then rang Dinesh’s brother, a wholesale garment trader in Chandni Chowk. “We both decided to wait a bit. I usually shut the shop by 8 pm, but yesterday I kept it open till 10 pm, thinking maybe he’d walk in,” said Luv.
Later in the night, both went to LNJP Hospital. “We waited till 2 am, but the guards didn’t allow us in. We went home, but no one slept. At 4 am, we went back and his brother identified the body.”
Dinesh’s wife and three children live in Bahraich. His eldest son, 13, is studying to become a priest at a religious school in Delhi.
“Woh bahut khushmizaaj tha, mazakiya tha (He was a happy-go-lucky person, alway cracking jokes),” said Murli Dhar Maurya, another employee, “If he saw us sad, he would tease us until we smiled. Lagta hai bas kahin gaye hain…abhi wapas aa jayenge (It seems like he has just stepped away and will be back soon).”
# Were to return home together… died instead
Lokesh Aggarwal (60) and Ashok Kumar (34)
Fertiliser trader and DTC conductor
Ashok and Lokesh, both hailing from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, met at Chandni Chowk Metro Station after Lokesh visited a relative at Sir Gangaram Hospital on Monday.
“They knew each other and were to return to Amroha together,” said Sandeep Singh, whose son is married to Lokesh’s daughter. “They were on a motorcycle near Red Fort when the blast took place.”
Lokesh, a fertiliser trader, is survived by two sons and one daughter. “He was a great person. Always happy. He lost his wife a few years ago… Never imagined he would go away like this,” Sandeep said as he prepared for the last rites at Hassanpur in UP.
Consious about his health, Lokesh would walk for 3 km every day in morning and evening, Sandeep added.
Ashok, meanwhile, had been working as DTC conductor for the last nine years. His brother-in-law Tikam Singh said, “A resident of Timarpur, Ashok was a DTC bus conductor earning Rs 30,000 per month… He was looking after not only his family but also his brother’s family.”
Ashok is survived by two daughters – aged five and six – and a three-year-old son.
# Missing, only to be found dead at hospital
Mohsin Malik (35)
E-rickshaw driver
Mohsin, a resident of Ansar block in Meerut, was driving a e-rickshaw when the blast occurred outside the Red Fort Metro Station on Monday.
After he did not come home, Mohsin’s sister and her husband Nazim came to Lok Nayak Hospital at night to look for him, only to be told that he has passed away.
“We saw the news on TV and called him but he did not take the call,” Nazim said. “Initially, we tried to find him but was later told by the doctors that he is no more.”
Survived by wife Sultana and two children, Mohsin had been driving an e-rickshaw for the last two-three years. He resided in Katra Suiwalan. “Sultana is in a terrible condition,” said Nazim.
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