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Attari train blasts: Tough time for families

Police and hospital authorities finding it difficult in identifying dead

Panipat: If the tragedy of having lost their near and dear ones in the Samjhauta Express blasts was not enough, the families of the victims had to deal with the excruciating experience of trying to identify them among the charred bodies. Sixty-year-old Sultan from Faradkhana in Delhi rushed here as soon as he heard about the tragedy. "I am looking for my sister Aftab Banu and niece Arfa Banu who were travelling to Karachi," he said.

He could not identify them among the dead and was eagerly waiting for a list of passengers who had managed to reach Attari.

"Had my sister's visa been extended, I would have been saved from such anxious moments," Sultan said.

Aftab Banu was married into a Karachi-based family and had come here about 25 days ago.Deen Mohammed from Rajasthan, had a similar tale to tell. "I am looking for my relatives Ulfat and Hajesh Shabeer who were returning home to Lahore," said Deen, who got to know about the tragedy when he watched the morning news on TV.

Police and hospital authorities were facing great difficulty in identifying the dead as very few of the relatives could reach the civil hospital here on Monday.

"We are looking for the travel documents to establish their identities," a police official said.

Police have set up a camp site at the Bhimsen Sachar Civil Hospital, where the charred remains lay — their only identification is the number tag attached to the bag carrying the body.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad visited the hospital and inspected the arrangements. "We are trying to identify the dead using the passports that had been found," he said.

"We have found some telephone diaries, Pakistani currency and a few passports from among the belongings of the dead," a police official said. — PTI

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Attari train blasts: Tough time for families

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