Red Fort blast: Pharmacist heading home, two friends reuniting after months among victims

On November 10, 34-year-old pharmacist Amar Kataria was driving back home after shutting his shop a little early. Hours later, his body was found charred beyond recognition, identified only through the tattoos on his arm.

One tattoo on his forearm read “Mom, my first love. Dad, my strength”, while another carried his wife Kriti’s name. Amar worked as a pharmacist and wholesaler at Bhagirath Palace.

Another victim, 34-year-old Ashok Kumar, a DTC bus conductor, and 60-year-old Lokesh Aggarwal, a fertiliser trader, had been friends for years. Lokesh had travelled to Delhi to visit a relative; Ashok insisted they return home together.

The two friends met at the Chandni Chowk Metro Station and decided to go back on Ashok’s motorcycle and when they both were near the Red Fort, the blast took place.

Lokesh is survived by two sons and a daughter. Ashok, meanwhile, had been working with DTC for nine years, supporting his wife, three children and his brother’s family.

Dinesh Mishra, 32, a printing press worker in Chandni Chowk, had just resumed work after Diwali at home in Shravasti, Uttar Pradesh. He had promised his three children he would be back “after the next order”. On Monday night, his brother found him at the LNJP Hospital. Dinesh, a resident of Bahraich, is survived by his wife and three children.

Among those killed were also two e-rickshaw drivers who had been ferrying passengers in the Old Delhi area when the blast occurred. Mohsin Malik, 35, of Meerut, had been driving for three years to support his wife Sultana and their two children.

Another driver, Mohammad Jumman, 35, of Delhi’s Shastri Park, had been on his way home when his phone location froze on his brother’s screen near the blast site. His wife Tanuja, who is differently-abled, spent the night moving between hospitals and mortuaries before identifying his body.

In Shamli district, Nauman Ansari, 21, had come to Delhi to buy cosmetics for his shop. A day after he was caught in the blast, his father, walking outside the mortuary, was unable to speak, his hands trembling. He looked inconsolable.

The youngest among the victims, Nauman, was the only earning member of his family. His brother survived the blast and underwent surgery.

Pankaj Sahni, 22, of Samastipur in Bihar, who worked as a cab driver, had just dropped off his last passenger at Old Delhi railway station when the explosion hit.

Autopsy report points to ruptured lungs, head injuries

The initial post-mortem findings of the Delhi blast victims on Wednesday revealed severe injuries, including broken bones and head trauma.The blast wave damage lungs, ears and abdominal organs, rupturing eardrums, lungs and intestines of the victims. The causes of death include deep wounds and excessive bleeding, with cross-injury patterns indicating victims were thrown against walls or the ground.

During the post-mortem examination, no splinter traces were found on the bodies or clothing. The type of explosive used will be determined by forensic analysis. Most injuries were concentrated on the upper body, head and chest, the initial findings say.

Swab samples of deceased have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Rohini for analysis, as some metal pieces and foreign particles were reportedly recovered from the bodies.