2008 Ahmedabad Serial Blasts: Survivors Recall Tryst With Terror

Ahmedabad, Feb 8 (PTI) Yash Vyas was only 10 years old when he suffered severe burn injuries after a bomb blast rocked a hospital ward in Asarva area of Ahmedabad in July 2008. He is grateful to God for saving his life, but not a day passes when he does not remember his father and elder brother who died in the blast.

Vyas, now aged 24, is pursuing his graduation in science, but his family's struggles continue even after 13 years of the horrific incident and the mental scars caused by it are yet to heal.

Like him, many other victims also recalled the horror after 21 synchronised blasts ripped the city on July 26, 2008, killing 56 people and leaving over 200 others injured.

A special court here on Tuesday convicted 49 accused in the case and acquitted 28 others, giving them the benefit of doubt. The hearing on the quantum of sentence for those convicted will start from Wednesday.

Vyas recalled that he spent four months in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital after suffering over 50 per cent burn injuries in the incident, and has not recovered completely till date.

'I am still suffering from partial hearing impairment because of the explosion. I spent nearly four months in the ICU while my father and elder brother Rohan, who was then 12 years old, died in the blast. I miss them. My mother and grandmother suffered a lot all these years and our struggle still continues,' he said.

His father Dushyant Vyas was a lab technician in a cancer medical facility located on the civil hospital campus.

On July 26, 2008, Dushyant had taken his two sons to an open ground of the hospital to teach them how to ride a bicycle.

'At around 7.30 pm, when my father saw some blast victims being brought in ambulances (of an incident in another city area), he decided to help them. But, as soon as we reached near the civil hospital's trauma ward, an explosion occurred. My father and brother died on the spot,' Yash said.

He said those involved in the serial blasts must be given capital punishment.

Gujarat minister Pradip Parmar, who was also injured in the blast outside the trauma ward of the civil hospital, recalled seeing people with blood all over them, some people with burn injuries, and dimembered body parts lying scattered in the medical facility after the incident.

Parmar, who is currently serving as the state's social justice and empowerment minister, was at that time a BJP worker in the Asarva Assembly constituency area, where the civil hospital is situated.

He said when he and some other BJP workers reached the civil hospital to help people injured in the other blasts, a powerful explosion occurred near the trauma ward.

'Many people died on the spot. One of my legs was critically injured. The damage was nearly 90 per cent and doctors had even thought of amputating it to save my body from further infection. But, luckily they were able to save my leg,' he said, lauding the doctors for their efforts.

But, he said the injuries left several scars on the leg.

'That was a traumatic experience,' said Parmar, who currently represents the Asarva constituency in the state Assembly.

Bhushan Bhatt, former BJP MLA from Jamalpur-Khadia seat of the old city, recalled how he had a narrow escape after a blast in Raipur Chakla area here.

'It was a Saturday...I and some other local BJP workers were sitting near the handcart of a sandwich vendor. Suddenly, an explosion occurred close to a medical shop located nearby and people started running towards the place where we were sitting. I and other workers got up and went near the shop to see what had happened,' he said.

The sandwich vendor's wife, Hasumati Kadia, came there with some homemade snacks for her husband and sat near a table where Bhatt sat a few minutes ago.

'After some time, another blast took place near that table, killing Hasumatiben. Another employee of a nearby shop, named Ankit, and three others died on the spot. A small memorial has been built here in their names,' he said.

After the blast, people here ferried the injured persons on their scooters, and in auto-rickshaws and ambulances, said Bhatt, who had also deposed as a prosecution witness in the case before the court.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)