Mohammad Saleem, 47, his wife Farida Naaz, 35, and eight-year-old Ameer and six-year-old Mohammad Ali, were killed in the blast.
His two widowed sisters, Ayesha Sultana and Zahera Begum, shocked beyond words, are slowly coming to the grim realisation that they are all alone. "They left home at around 5.30 pm after the kids returned from school," said the sisters, who haven't eaten a morsel since the shocking incident.
After reaching Lumbini Park, Saleem made several calls to his sisters who were in the house of a relative. The keys of their flat at Golconda Apartments in Humayunnagar were with Saleem and assured his sisters he would return soon. After spending some time at the park, the family went to Koti for shopping. An hour later they went to Gokul Chat Bhandar.
"Our brother made his last call at 7.20 pm," said the sisters. "We thought they were at the laser show when the bomb went off. We rushed there and searched for them. We could not trace them at Lumbini Park. Later, we came to know that they were killed in the blast at Gokul Bhandar."
The sisters came to know of the blast through television. "We saw the horrible scenes at the park and rang up our brother several times," said Ayesha. "But there was no response from his mobile."
The sisters rushed to the park in panic. "We were hopeful that they may have escaped unhurt," said Ayesha and Zahera. "But we could see only their bodies." "Saleem used to look after us," they said. "We don't know how we will live without him."
Neighbours were shocked at the death of the amiable realtor and his family. "He was highly religious and helpful," said Meraj, a neighbour. "We had friendly relations with his family for the last 12 years."
"We have not come across such a noble person. Saleem never hurt any one. He was known for lending a helping hand in the neighbourhood. It's not death but terrorists who snatched him away from us all," Saleem's relative Farah Farooqui said.
No comments:
Post a Comment