The aftermath: a bunch of shattered lives and dreams

Tragedy came calling not once but twice for the Singh family.

WOMAN DIES OF SHOCK

• Tragedy came calling not once but twice for the Singh family. Ghanshyam Singh, a 22-year-old man who worked in a cloth shop died in the blast at Hanuman Mandir, which he had visited with his elder brother for the Tuesday pooja. He was killed just as he was stepping out of the temple at around 7.30 p.m., but his wife and two children were not informed of his death until late at night while they waited for him at their house. When Ghanshyam’s aunt Savitri learned of her nephew’s death over the phone, the 35-year-old fainted almost immediately and could not be revived, said her husband Bacchan Singh. By the time she was taken to the hospital, she was already dead. The doctors informed Singh that his wife had had a fatal stroke. “She used to take great care of Ghanshyam. She’d cook for him and look after his child also. He respected her a lot,” said a distraught Bacchan Singh who will now have to explain Savitri’s death to their son, Ram (5). “This day will always haunt us. All we can do is wait for justice,” added Singh.

He was waiting to be a father

• Iqbal Ahmad, a 27-year-old coal dealer, was looking forward to becoming a father next month. But a casual visit to his cousin’s shoe stall at Tripolia Gate ended in tragedy when a bomb explosion killed him on the spot. He was found next to a golgappa stall where the bicycle bearing the bomb was parked. “My daughter-in-law Shabana is eight months pregnant. My son was so excited that next month he was going to be a father. He wanted to expand his business and had even applied for loan of Rs 3 lakh so that he could expand his coal shop. Now, with him, all his dreams are also gone,” said Gosh Ahmad, Iqbal’s father, adding that no leader or senior government official paid their condolences to the family.

SON INJURED, FATHER DEAD

• Sixty-year-old Ram Prasad and his son Govind made a living by selling flowers at Chandpol during the morning and evening hours. On Tuesday, both anticipated making high profits, since Tuesdays are when great crowds flock the Hanuman temple. Govind managed to escape with his life because he was sitting away from the road, unlike his father who was scouting for customers. “I wish I could have died instead of my father. By the time I could do something, he was lying in a pool of blood,” said Govind, who though he was seriously injured in his legs and arms left the hospital for his father’s cremation.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the designation gives law enforcement “enhanced powers to combat a group that has instilled fear through violence and intimidation”.

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