I was near the reservation counter at CST, shooing away urchins, when I heard gunshots and grenade blasts in the main hall.
CST - Suresh Salunke Head constable, GRP
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Initially, I suspected that a gang war had broken out. Then, I saw injured steel utensils vendor Bharat Nevadiya from Vasai, running towards me with his injured son Viraj (1) and daughter Anjali (2).
The family had been waiting for the Kolkata-bound Geetanjali Express, when the terrorists' bullets found them.u00a0
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Baptism by blood: I was close to tears as I comforted 1-yr-old Viraj through the night as doctors attended to his parents. |
His bleeding wife Poornima told him to move the children to a safer spot and Bharat came running for help.
I rushed Bharat and his kids to St George hospital, where surgeons attended to bullet injuries on Bharat's left shoulder and stomach. I was close to tears holding Viraj through the night, as his little body heaved with sobs.
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His mother Poornima died in the same hospital, while she was being treated for bullet injuries to her head.
A year later
Salunkhe, who has five more years of service, says many social organisations appreciated his initiative. He has no regrets about not being rewarded by the government.
He was, after all, merely doing his duty, he reasons. He says the one image that has stayed with him from the night is one-year-old Viraj crying for his mother.
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He says the sound of firecrackers brings back memories of 26/11.
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