Family and friends bade an emotional and tearful farewell to Rajeev Agarwala at the morgue of Sassoon General Hospital,and later at the Vaikunth crematorium. The final year student of the five-year law course at Symbiosis died at 5 am on Sunday at the Jehangir Hospital ICU. Among the top five students,Rajeev had been recently placed in a law firm,said Shashikala Gurpur,principal of Symbiosis Law College who attended the funeral. She added that not only was Rajeev a bright and energetic student,but he also had several achievements to his credit. He will always be known as a student who pioneered the Symbiosis Law Schools quarterly magazine Lex Novum that discusses student activities. The magazine was converted into an e-newsletter last year. Rajeev also cleared the Company Secretary (CS) exam which is a rare achievement, said Gurpur. Dr S B Mujumdar,Principal-Director of Symbiosis,who was also present at the crematorioum for the final rites and offered condolences to Rajeevs father said, Its a tragic loss and for us at Symbiosis,for professors and his friends. Rajeevs father Nandkumar broke down as he recalled how Rajeev wanted them to come down from Kolkata for the convocation as he wanted them to be proud of his achievements. That is not possible now, said a distraught Nandkumar. Earlier,at the Sassoon General Hospital morgue,Rajeevs friends had a hard time trying to console his mother Madhu and sister Radhika. The family hails from Kolkata and family members said he had last visited home on January 25. Rajeev and his friend Abhishek Saxena (who died in the blast) had decided to go for the law college festival on February 13 at Raga laws at Koregaon Park. Rajeev,along with Abhishek,Rishab Agarwal and their senior at Symbiosis,Sumeet Singh,who is a legal consultant with Aditya Birla firm in Mumbai and Vinita Phatak had gone to German Bakery for a cup of tea when the blast took place. While Sumeet is stable at Inlaks and Budhrani Hospital,Vinitas parents took her to Leelavati Hospital in Mumbai. Rishab Agarwal was admitted to Sassoon after which his parents took him to Nashik and he is recovering. According to Rishabs father Ashwani Prakash,Rishab has been admitted to Wockhardt Hospital and is undergoing a knee surgery. He will go back to Pune by March end to appear for his examinations, Prakash told The Indian Express. Both Sumeet and Rishab have not been informed about Rajeevs death as they were still undergoing treatment.
