Guide shows gunmen way, gets 4 bullets

‘‘So much happened in so little time that I still cannot believe what happened. People were killed before my eyes, then I was shot at four times and within 10 minutes, the terrorists actually walked back and spoke to me,’’ he said.

Dharia says he was with a group at the left wing of the complex when he heard a loud sound. ‘‘I closed the door of the Sahajanand Hall from inside, but they entered from the exit door. It was there that the terrorists lobbed a grenade and also opened fire,’’ he said.

By then, the two terrorists entered the hall where the rock sculpture is located. ‘‘They forced us to raise our hands and then coming within four feet of me, both terrorists shot at me twice before moving on another room even as I collapsed to the ground.’’

‘‘I was still lying in blood, trying to get up and figure out what to do when both militants returned in about 10 minutes,’’ Dharia said. ‘‘One of them asked me whether I was still alive,’’ said Dharia.

He added that the other told him that he would pump a bullet into his brain if he did not show him the route to the first floor of the left wing. ‘‘Upar ka raasta batao they asked me,’’ Dharia says.

‘‘I was stunned at first, then I showed them the way. But what surprised me was that they just left me there. They did not kill me,’’ he said.

He then mustered enough strength to walk out of the hall and into the lawn leading to the entrance. ‘‘People first thought he was a terrorist, and the cops there asked him to raise his hands,’’ said Harish Brahmbhatt who sits on the booking window of the temple. His brother Nilesh Dharia, who has arrived from Ghatkopar in Mumbai, said that it was indeed a miracle that his brother was alive.

‘‘I was stunned that despite being hit from such close range, he still spoke to the terrorists,’’ said Nilesh. Hitesh Dharia has been working at the Akshardham temple for the past 10 years. Besides assisting in the Public Relations Department, he also doubles up as a guide at the temple.

He stays at the Akshardham, although his parents stay at Gandhinagar and a brother stays at Ghatkopar in Mumbai. Last February, he got married to Unnati, who is currently in the United States. Doctors say that although the injuries are serious, he is making good progress.