New Delhi, September 13
The stench of human flesh filled the air in Connaught Place, the heart of the capital, long after twin blasts (along the Barakhamba Road and near Pakika Bazar) had shaken its soul. Within yards distance of Metro Bhawan, the new-found symbol of India’s engineering prowess, and American Centre, the cultural face of USA in India, lay scattered bits and pieces of life that was.

It was eventually a strike to undermine the intellectual and commercial might of India, as it happened at a place that houses offices of business majors. Right across the blast site is Doordarshan Kendra; within kilometers distance is Rashtrapati Bhawan on the one side and the Supreme Court of India on the other.

The trail of blood at along Barakhamba Road in Connaught Place was finally traced to the blue dust (meant to house non-recyclable waste) bin placed outside the buzzing Barakhamba Road metro station, where a 12-year-old street boy claimed he saw two men planting the bomb. Just when the panic was building up came this revelation from the child, who identified himself as Rahul.

A balloon vendor in the area, he said he saw two bearded men, dressed in all black arrive near the metro station in an auto rickshaw, drop something into the blue dustbin and go off. The child, police officers on location said, tried to run away when some people spotted him in the vicinity of the metro station around 7.30 pm. He was injured and shaken, and said, “Ten minutes after the bearded men left, I heard a massive blast. I was away from the dustbin at that time.”

He was whisked away by the police amidst tight security. One section among the bystanders said the boy was seen sporting an odd gear around his waist. It could be a bomb. The police personnel standing guard, however, dismissed this fear and said the child would be interrogated for clues to the tragedy.

Just when Rahul was being taken away, minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal visited the spot and coldly remarked: “This is the handiwork of our enemies. We will reply to them in their language. Our police was most vigilant. It is unfortunate that this happened.”

Naturally, no one was impressed. Eyewitnesses like Pawan Kambhoj and Manish, in fact demanded answers from the government as to why life in the capital had become so cheap. “I saw the 70-year-old beggar’s body being ripped apart and several others being injured. Close to 50 must be battling for life. The common man is suffering while ministers are making lame excuses as ever,” said Manish, an ICICI bank employee, who escaped death by some seconds.

The police for their part are looking for another man who could have some information on the blast. He is an ice cream vendor, who was parked close to the site where the blast occurred. Now in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, the man could have seen the bombers, said some police personnel on duty, adding that his paraphernalia was completely destroyed.

Sadly, the police paid little attention to management of the blast site, allowing free run to all especially TV journalists, who ran over the place again and again. The police was busy diverting the traffic away from the area and preventing vehicle parking in notified slots for fear of another blast. But they entirely missed out on sanitising the location of the blast, which people passed through as though it were a park.