Patna serial blasts: Among dead and injured are students,Modi fans and the curious

The toll from the bombings rose to six on Monday. Among the dead and over 90 injured were BJP workers and supporters and college students who had gone to see the “strong and radical” Gujarat chief minister.

A group of students had come from a village in Jehanabad; some among them suffered injuries,but on Monday,the youths said they were now “more determined to extend support” to Modi.

Munna Srivastava of Mirganj in Gopalganj district died in one of the blasts. Srivastava was not a member of the BJP,but would often carry the party’s flag at local functions and give speeches. He was sitting near a large TV screen at Gandhi Maidan.

Four others who were killed — Rajnarain Singh from Gaurichak near Patna,Vikas Kumar from Kaimur,Bharat Rajak from Supaul and Prem Kumar from Madhubani — were common people who had gone to attend the rally. The sixth victim,who died late on Sunday night,has not been identified.

Mohammed Tariq,one of the accused,is very critical and on ventilator support in a Patna hospital. Four of the six blasts in Gandhi Maidan took place near TV screens.

Rajnish Kumar,a BA Part I student from Jehanabad recovering in the emergency ward of Patna Medical College Hospital,said: “As we were moving towards the statue of Mahatma Gandhi,there was a commotion. Some people seemed to have spotted a bomb. I tried to get away,but there was an explosion,and shrapnel hit my hand.”

Rajnish’s friend Nitish said he was thrown six feet away as the bomb went off. “We had heard so much about Modi and we wanted to see him in person. The attacks have made us more determined to support him,” Nitish said.

Jitendra Mistry,a mechanic,was wounded in the head and stomach in the Regent Cinema blast. He said he was the vice-president of the Fatuah Nagar BJP unit,and had been associated with the party for a decade. “I wanted to see Modi from close,” he said.

Mistry complained that despite the state government’s promise that those injured in the attacks would be treated for free,he had had to buy medicines from outside the hospital.

Anil Kumar Singh,Shambhu Singh and Ramagya Singh from Mokama said they were watching proceedings on the large screen when a bomb went off. “We were lying injured,and passersby took us to hospital,” Shambhu Singh said. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,Singh said,had “forgotten” the people who voted him to power.

“Even in hospital,I wanted to know what Modi said at the rally,” he said.