‘Even in war situations, warring sides spare Rad Cross’

“I used to see Ketan clean his bike every day. I had to identify his body from an iron bangle he used to wear… I still can’t believe it,” says a shocked Chatki Sharma, talking about the son of the Civil Hospital’s Administration Officer, S P Bhagora. One of the targets of Saturday’s blasts, the Civil Hospital employees are still to get over the shock. “Not only is this gruesome, but also unthinkable. Even in war situations, the warring sides spare Red Cross vans. They have gone beyond it all and targeted even the staff and volunteers,” says a junior doctor. Adds orthopaedic surgeon J V Modi: “These people lowered themselves to the cheapest levels. In case of a mass casualty in the future, the hospitals will be required to be cordoned off first.”

Kanu Solanki saw colleagues die in front of his eyes at the trauma ward. “What was our fault?” he asks. An enraged junior doctor, who lives on the hospital campus, says he sees no way out. “How can someone even think of blowing up a victim who already has a leg or a hand blown away? I have lost faith in humanity today.”