Those who lost dear ones can’t forget the moment of horror
JAIPUR: More than 11 years have passed but memories of Jaipur serial blasts which took place in 2008 still haunt the people who lost their dear ones.
Shankarlal Saini, 47, who lost his 17-year-old son Deepak Kumar Saini in the incident, says that the tears have dried up from his eyes but the day on which the inhuman incident took place still haunts him and his wife.
“My son Deepak, my nephews Mahesh Kumar Saini, 22, and Vishnu Kumar Saini, 17 had come for sightseeing in Jaipur from my native village Garh, located in Bassi town of Jaipur.
“I was posted as constable in deputy SP Kotwali office in that year. Around 7.20 am I was standing near control room which is located 500 meters away from Sanganeri Gate. One of my colleagues told me that my son and my two nephews have got injured in the bomb blast near Kotwali police station. It was a shocker for me and I ran towards the spot. But by the time I had reached I saw my son and nephews were been taken to SMS hospital,” he said.
He said that his son Deepak reached hospital within 15 minutes, but died after one-hour of treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to multiple injuries caused by shrapnel present in the bomb.
“Deepak was in class 10th when he died. He had scored 58% marks in his secondary board exams in 2008. He had come to Jaipur with his brothers as I had assured him a treat for his good performance in board exams.
“My nephew Mahesh also got seriously injured as one shrapnel had got stuck inside his brain. He was in ICU for 55-days. The shrapnel was removed after one major operation.
Shankarlal not only lost his son, but also his two young colleagues, who had joined the state police force just a few months back before the incident. In the Kotwali police station blast four cops had died while four got seriously injured.
The constable said that it was huge loss for him and her wife Lali Devi Saini. “I was on leave for around one-month after the incident. My wife took around year to settle down. But still it’s a sad memory which can never fade away,” Shankarlal said.
Rajendra Sahu, 49, a city based businessmen said that It was a ‘horrific’ incident, but I have learned to live beyond it because I had to take care of my other family members.
Rajendra lost his wife Sushila Devi on May 12, 2019, exactly four years after the bomb blast. “My wife Sushila and her sister Geeta Devi Sahu had gone to visit Hanuman temple in Chandpole. The bomb bl as t e d around 7.30pm. The intensity of the blast was so high that eight shrapnels pierced my wife’s head and got stuck inside the brim which left her in comma for five years and later she died. Her sister survived injuries on her ears but she recovered after a year of treatment,” said Rajendra.
Rajendra told that every day was as painful as blast when he saw her wife in coma inside the ICU of the hospital. But I had to look after my two daughters and son. Both of my daughters had got married and are living happily but the pain of losing mother is always there.
Every year on May 13, a mega prayer meet is held at the Hanuman Temple in Chandpole, where one of the bomb blasts had occurred eleven years ago and homage is paid at the Kotwali police station, to policemen, killed during the blast.