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A long wait for kin at hospital
Vendors outside court injured
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Rs 4 lakh for kin of dead
There was blood all over, say witnesses
Delhiites volunteer transport, blood
Sheila meets Chidambaram
Rahul faces ire of kin at RML
Bomber could be hurt or dead
Despite May blast, court had no CCTV cameras
It was chaos at most hospitals
5,000 people visit HC daily
HC resumes work after
lunch
DUSU campaigning ends today
Train stoned
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A long wait for kin at hospital
New Delhi, September 7 The budding lawyer, who was pursuing his internship for law at the court, was brought to the trauma centre of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital in a serious condition. "We received a call from our driver who was there at the site that he has been rushed to RML in a serious condition," said Gurmeet Singh, relative of Amanpreet. His family members and friends stood on the fifth floor of the new trauma building of RML Hospital waiting for the release of his body. One of his cousins, said, "He was a good-looking and had a well-built and was passionate about law. But now all his dreams have come to a naught." Some relatives of victims, waiting for a glimpse of their dear ones, complained of guards' biased treatment and harshness and about the media's insensitiveness. Shammi and Sultana, daughters of Nizamuddin (85), who was declared dead at RML Hospital, rushed to the Hospital, but they had to wait for hours before they were finally allowed to see their father. The trouble-torn family had no clue about the other son who was standing with the old man to get the passes close to the parking inside the Delhi High Court, and finally managed to trace him at Safdarjung Hospital where he was admitted with minor injuries. The family said, "Nizammudin had come from Meerut for the hearing of a case in which his grandson Shahnawas was an accused and was accompanied by his son and nephew today. While the family had kept their fingers crossed for the release of their son, little did they know that the day would end up with such a tragic end. "Our father had gone to the court for the last hearing involving our son (Shahnawas) and when the blast happened, he was standing with his son while his nephew was inside the court. We are not being allowed to see our people, but ministers are being escorted in," said Shammi and Sultana. On the fifth floor of the RML's trauma centre, the wife and daughter of HD Joshi (68), from Naraina remained inconsolable as friends of the deceased stood beside them. "We had a case regarding the non-development of Nariana Industrial Area and he (Joshi) was collecting the entry pass. I was also coming to the court but was 10 minutes late," said Ramanand Gupta, president of Nariana Industrial Area. Resident of Ghewra village in Nanloi, Mehtab Singh Dabas (57) had come to the high court for the settlement of a civil dispute, but ended up losing his life. "My clients Mehtab died in the blast. I got to know when I called up and his son answered that he is dead. He and his son had gone to get the pass and I was waiting at court No 22. One of my juniors, Sachin Pehwa was also injured. He sustained splinter injuries and is in shock," said Mehtab's counsel Sanjeev Beniwal.
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Vendors outside court injured
New Delhi, September 7 Vendors who camped outside the Delhi High Court complex daily to earn their living were also among the While public interest litigations (PIL) are allowed on Wednesday, the vendors came to seek a stay on the police action against them. Suraj Bal (39) and Harcharan Singh (53) received severe injuries in the blast. They were rushed to Safdarjung Hospital, where their relatives were anxiously waiting to get medical reports from the doctor. The two injured in the blast belong to Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. Though doctors have declared that they are out of danger and their condition is stable, they are not able to hear as their ears were affected by the blast. Both the victims earned their bread and butter by selling products on the streets. But they were removed by the Delhi police after which several vendors approached the High Court seeking a stay. "My uncle was making good money here, but he and other vendors were removed by the police and asked to leave the place. They came to seek legal help and now see what has happened to them," said Rajpal Singh, Harcharan Singh's relative. |
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Rs 4 lakh for kin of dead
New Delhi, September 7 Dikshit announced assistance for the next of kin of the deceased and injured persons. In the case of the death of an adult person, Rs 4 lakh will be given, and in the case of the death of a minor person, Rs 1.5 lakh will be granted. In case of permanent incapacitation, Rs 2 lakh will be given. In cases of serious injuries, Rs 1 lakh and for minor injuries, Rs 10,000 will be given. She directed the principal secretary (health) to ensure free of cost treatment to the injured admitted to hospitals. Dikshit visited Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital to see the victims. She talked to the medical superintendent about their health. "We have instructed the doctors to provide all possible treatment to the injured. This kind of cowardly act must be harshly condemned by one and all," she said. The next of kin of the deceased or injured persons have been suggested to contact the office of divisional commissioner and secretary (revenue) for claiming the compensation.
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There was blood all over, say witnesses
New Delhi, September 7 "I had parked the car near the gate when the blast occurred. I saw body parts flying up in the air and one of the persons, who had lost his legs, landed in front of the car. There was blood everywhere and I saw a person soaked in blood who didn't have his hands. There was another person whose flesh on his leg was burnt off. I had transported three injured persons to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. "One of the injured was an advocate whose back was broken by the impact of the blast. The third victim was critically injured and had blood oozing from a wound in his body," he said. RP Luthra, an advocate at the high court, said he was at the parking lot within the premises of the law complex when the blast occurred. "First I saw smoke coming out from Gate No 5, I rushed to the site and saw 25-30 bodies lying on the ground. Most of them did not have their limbs. I saw PCR vans immediately arrived at the venue. I helped the police take the injured to the hospital. I had issued court passes for three persons and have not heard from them since the blast occurred," said Luthra. Other witnesses included workers at the under-construction parking lot opposite the high court. "There was a loud noise when the blast occurred. I saw a lot of blood everywhere and some of the people who were lying on the ground didn't have their limbs intact," said Mohan, a construction worker. An official of the Delhi Police Bomb Squad said the range of the blast was probably 200m. A lawyer at the Delhi High Court, who did not want to be named, said the government would only release the actual number tomorrow. "Twenty people are probably killed and around 85 are injured, mostly senior citizens. The government wants to keep things under control, due to which the actual figure will be released tomorrow," said the lawyer. |
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Delhiites volunteer transport, blood
New Delhi, September 7 It wasn't just the kin of the injured making rounds of the hospitals today. Many eyewitnesses of the blast also helped the injured get to the nearest hospital. Jaiprakash Singh, who was present at the site of the blast, chose to accompany the injured to Ram Manohar Lohiya (RML) Hospital. Many others like him joined in with their vehicles and helped in the quick transport of the injured. Bhanu Shah from Ashram was also present at the high court when the incident took place. He helped in contacting the relatives or families of the people who sustained minor injuries and wanted to go back home after first aid. "We are here at RML and have arranged conveyance for people who need to go back home. Also, we are helping arrange snacks and tea for relatives of the victims. We are here till we are needed," said Jaiprakash. Other volunteers offered to donate blood at RML, Safdarjung and AIIMS. All day long, there were announcements on radio channels and status updates on social networking websites like Twitter and "We have been receiving a lot of phone calls about blood donations. We have enough (blood) stock as of now. Anyone who wishes to donate can enquire at the hospital," said an official on the RML helpline. Even at AIIMS, where only two patients had come in till late afternoon, as many as 100 people were present at the emergency ward waiting to hear news about the patients. "My mother is admitted in AIIMS for a kidney stone surgery. My brother and I went to the emergency ward when we heard that the victims were admitted here. But we were told that there was no scarcity of blood. Even so, there was some unrest among people here who were asking the staff for any help needed," said Baldev Singh, from Dadri, UP. At Safdarjung, Mukul Bharti, a sales executive said, "I have come here to enquire if there is any requirement of a specific blood group. The city has to come forward together in times like this. More than waving a national flag and chanting slogans, one's actions in times like this are a proof of his/her being a true citizen." The helpline numbers of the city hospitals are: Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital: 011-23348200, 23404446, 23743769 and 23404478; All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre: 011-26588700; Safdarjung Hospital: 011-26101925, 26161960 and 26161960.
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Sheila meets Chidambaram
New Delhi, September 7 Appealing to the people to stay calm, she said: "People should not panic. It is a very tragic incident. Everybody should condemn it. Our heart goes to the families who lost their dear ones. Dikshit said it would not be fair to hazard a guess on the reasons behind the bomb blast. Asked why the Delhi High Court was targeted, Dikshit said: "I can't be clear on that as there could be several reasons." — IANS |
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Rahul faces ire of kin at RML
New Delhi, September 7 Rahul arrived at the hospital today around 2 pm and spent almost half an hour with the victims. All day long, victims' families had been complaining that they were not allowed inside the emergency ward to see their relatives. Hence, they were quite agitated. As soon as Rahul walked out, they could not control their emotions and charged at him with slogans like "Rahul Gandhi hai hai", "Rahul Gandhi sharam karo". Some people even heckled him, making it difficult for him to get into his car. |
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Bomber could be hurt or dead
New Delhi, September 7 LN Rao, additional DCP with the special cell, anti-terrorist wing of the Delhi police, camped at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital all through the day to verify the backgrounds of the victims. So much so, that the relatives of the injured and dead were heard complaining that they were not being allowed to meet their patients. Special commissioner (law and order) Dharmendra Kumar confirmed that though the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was investigating the case, the Delhi police was assisting it. "Many eyewitnesses told us that the man who brought the briefcase with the bomb could have been injured in the blast. As a precautionary exercise, we have placed our teams to verify the backgrounds of the victims," said Kumar, one of the first police officials to reach the spot as he happened to be passing through the area when the blast took place. Speaking to The Tribune, an injured eyewitness said the man who brought the briefcase could not have escaped unhurt since the blast took place within a minute of him placing the briefcase on the ground. "I noticed the clean-shaven man. Around 30 years old, he did not stand in the queue and walked forward where we were standing for our entry passes. I was watching him, thinking he would try to get in the queue from between. However, he kept his briefcase on the ground and walked away. And the blast took place within seconds. I think he too got badly injured," said Mahendra Tyagi, a grocery store owner and a resident of Burari village who had come to the court regarding a case. While Tyagi suffered minor injuries, his friend who was waiting on a side was seriously injured and taken to RML Hospital. There is a heavy deployment of the police across the various hospitals where the injured have been taken, but the local polices stations have been instructed to contact all private and government hospitals in their respective areas to keep an eye on any injured coming to them.
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Despite May blast, court had no CCTV cameras
New Delhi, September 7 There were no CCTV cameras at any of the entrances of the court premises, which could have given the police a clue about the suspect. Dharmender Kumar, special commissioner (law and order), said the public works department had been assigned the job of installing CCTV cameras. "The blast took place outside the secured area. The road opposite the court has a heavy flow of traffic all the time. It cannot be blocked," he said. Rakesh Tiku, chairman of the Delhi Bar Council, said, "After the low-intensity blast outside the same building on May 25, the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court had sent a recommendation to the Delhi police to install CCTV cameras at the entrances and on the premises of the court," Tiku said. "We want CCTV cameras at the entrances of the court premises and more police patrolling. If cameras had been installed, today, the police would have got a clue about the suspects," he added. "The high court gets the maximum visitors on Wednesdays between 9.45 and 10.15 am as PILs are taken up on this day. We can at least minimise the danger if the Delhi police guards the boundary area of the complex," he said further. Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, who visited the blast site, voiced the same opinion, saying that Delhi had always been a target of the terrorist groups and CCTV cameras should have been installed at the court complex after the blast in May. "The home minister admits that Delhi is a soft target for terrorists. And since such an incident had happened at the high Court recently, why was CCTV cameras not installed there? Four months ago, the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court had sent a recommendation in this regard, but nothing was done," said Swaraj Gopal Subramaniam, former Solicitor General of India said the HC needed a tight security. "This is the second attack at the High Court. We have to get to the bottom of it," he added.
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It was chaos at most hospitals
New Delhi, September 7 Among the injured, 61 were taken to RML where a total of 11 patients were declared dead. Three victims, Naheem, Kamlesh and Hasmukh, were rushed to the main casualty of AIIMS and four patients, who were said to be complaining of hearing loss, were admitted to Safdarjung burns ward later. One was admitted to LNJP. While all eyes remained on the court area, after the horrifying sight, doctors at the casualty of all these hospitals were pressed into service as PCR vans and CAT ambulances carried patients, many critically injured. Bodies of victims were received with burns and halved body parts, with doctors maintaining that most of the injuries had affected the pelvis and lower limbs. It was all chaos at most of hospitals, but at RML, which saw the maximum patients; the situation was particularly bad, with patients coming in every five minutes. They were being rushed to the RML's new trauma centre in stretchers and the harried kin were kept waiting with moist eyes outside the trauma unit as well as old casualty building. A doctor in the casualty said while Naheem sustained multiple pellet injuries. At Safdarjung, where a total of four patients were admitted, the first patient was brought around 11:30 in the morning and the last patient came on his own around 6:30 pm. "All four patients are those with hearing loss and have no external injury. They have been managed conservatively. For three patients, odiometry has been done and for the fourth we would do tomorrow. All are stable and further investigations will be carried out tomorrow," said Dr N K Mohanty, the medical superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital. At RML, among several families were-Neena Mehandiratha from Paschim Vihar who had come with her daughter to see his injured husband whom the family later shifted to a private hospital; Abdul Rehman, father of Alauddin (40) who sustained serious injuries in his legs. Recounting the horror, Sanjeev Beniwal, who was just 500 metres from the site where the briefcase exploded, said, "There was all smoke and within seconds the area was enveloped in thick darkness." The condition of those three who were taken to AIIMS remained stable. A doctor in the casualty said while Naheem sustained multiple bruises due to pellets while a pellet in the abdomen requires exploration and may need surgery. Kamlesh was brought with nails and pellets in his right leg and had injured soft tissue. "Both the patients are conscious and oriented and have been kept under observation of on-call surgery doctors in the surgical emergency," said a doctor from the AIIMS casualty.
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5,000 people visit HC daily
New Delhi, September 7 The court complex, which houses 700 lawyer chambers, sees 3,500 lawyers visiting it on normal days. However, the number increases every Wednesday, it being a public interest litigation (PIL) day. There are over 40 courts, including high court judges' courts and joint registrars' courts. Besides, the complex has around 10 mediation cells which deal with resolving disputes outside court processes. The court has nine entry gates. However, entry for the litigants was restricted to only from Gate Nos. 5 and 7 after the last blast outside the court building May 25.-- IANS
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HC resumes work after
lunch
New Delhi, September 7 Rakesh Tiku, chairman of the Delhi Bar Council, said that the lawyers will work despite the situation prevailing after the blast. "The court will sit at 2.15 pm. If the litigants and the lawyers can't come, the court will be adjourned," he said. "I am shocked after the blast, but I along with my colleagues went to attend the court proceedings post-lunch. The court resumed because we did not want to convey a negative message to the terror groups. However, nothing substantial happened at the court as most of the lawyers were not present. As many as 95 per cent cases were adjourned for the day," said Bipin Bihari Singh, an advocate at the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court. Singh said that some lawyers had pleaded to the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Dipak Misra, to suspend the court's proceedings. "After the blast, the gate number 8 for lawyers only, was closed and due to this, we could not enter the court premises," explained Singh. Gopal Subramaniam, former Solicitor General of India, however had urged a bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Deepak Verma to resume the court's work. The HC then resumed its proceedings after lunch. |
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DUSU campaigning ends today
New Delhi, September 7 Actress Mahima Choudhary arrived at NSUI's press conference today and supported their manifesto. The actress also visited south campus and expressed faith in NSUI leaders. The NSUI manifesto focused on the limited infrastructure in the university which is bearing the burden of a heavy semester system and overfilling of seats with the new admission policy. The party's another major point on the agenda is a dedicated northeast cell that will monitor the grievances of NE students. NSUI that lost three seats to ABVP last year said that the DUSU office has been involved in corrupt practices under ABVP. Many brawls were also reported which have lowered the students' belief in the union. The NSUI promised to restore that trust. Commenting on NSUI's statements, ABVP state secretary Rohit Chahal said, "The Congress has been backing its student wing and pumping in all resources to make sure that NSUI wins. After the Anna Hazare campaign last month, NSUI was nowhere to be seen as people were angry with the way Congress handled the situation. They are now trying to divert everyone's attention from the core issues. They call us corrupt when they themselves were nowhere to be seen with DU students who fought against corruption."
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Train stoned
Ghaziabad, September 7 Asenior citizen, Ashok, of Dhedha village, was run over by a train near Muradnagar. The villagers protested against the Railway police as the body laid unattended on the tracks for several hours.
-- PTI |
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The bomb blast at the Delhi High Court at 10.15 am today wreaked havoc by killing 11 people and injuring over 70 persons, many of them critical.
Arun Parihar, a driver, witnessed the blast when he was parking his employer's car near Gate No 5 of the high court, the site of blast.
With scores of eyewitnesses telling the police that the man who came to the Delhi High Court with the 1x1-foot briefcase that contained the bomb could be among the dead or injured, the first thing that the Delhi police did after the blast was to secure the hospitals where the victims were taken and check their antecedents.
