Ajay planning visit to Vaishno Devi, among 6 others died in Delhi factory blast

Twenty-two-year-old Ajay had planned a pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. But fate had otherwise in store for him. Ajay was killed, along with six others, after a portion of a factory manufacturing ceiling fans collapsed under the impact of a blast in its furnace in west Delhi's Sudarshan Park Thursday evening.

The 22-year-old landed a job at the factory recently and he had planned a visit to the Himalayan shrine, along with his friends, to thank the goddess. Before leaving for work on Thursday, Ajay had lunch with his father Buddhi Raja Bahadur, who cannot believe that it was their last meal together.

Waiting outside the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital to collect the body of his son, Bahadur said Ajay had joined the factory on the first day of the year. "He left for his work in the morning and came home for lunch. We did not have much conversation. His duty timings were from 9 pm to 5 pm. But he used to do overtime," Bahadur said. Earlier, he worked in a factory in Bawana, his friend said.

Besides Ajay, the collapse claimed the lives of Munger (55), Ramphal (45), Rajesh (40), Ajay (25), Sanjay Pratap (18) and Hanshu (6), police said. Eight people -- Ankit Gupta, Gangesh, Munna, Manju, Surender, Ashok, Rakesh and Bachhai Patel -- were injured in the collapse, they said.

Sanjay Pratap was working on the first floor of the factory when the incident took place. His brother Gangesh who sustained injuries was busy working on the ground floor, his uncle Mahender said. While Sanjay died, Gangesh got trapped inside the debris but survived the incident.

Gangesh has been working in the factory for the past three years. He used to make blades of the fans. Sanjay had joined the factory two months ago. "As soon as I got to know about the incident, I rushed to the hospital to check the status. Gangesh was unconscious but when he gained consciousness, he first inquired about his brother Sanjay. "We told him that an enquiry is on. But we have not told him about Sanjay's death. He still believes that his brother is under treatment," Mahender said.

Recalling the tragedy, Gangesh told Mahender at the hospital that he was working on the ground floor while his brother was on the second floor of the building when the blast took place. By the time he could even release what had happened, he was trapped under debris and gained conscious only after reaching the hospital.

Gangesh sustained severe head injuries and after treatment has been discharged from Safdarjung Hospital. Their relatives have not collected Pratap's body yet. Once, his brother Gangesh is stable, they will inform him about his brother's demise and collect the body.

A 25-year-old, whose name is also Ajay, was killed in the tragedy. He had been working at the factory for the past eight years. Rohit, his brother said, "I and my brother Ajay lived together. It was a normal day. My brother left home for work on time. His duty timings are from 9 am to 5 pm. I had gone to his factory with his lunch box.

"However, I could not meet him. His boss was standing right outside the factory. He said he will give him his lunch box," Rohit said. He said he never knew he would be seeing him for the last time that morning. "I was informed about the incident by some of the friends. They said many people have died and are still trapped.

"I was worried for my brother. I rushed to the factory from where I was directed to Acharya Bhikshu hospital. At around 10.30 PM I saw his dead body," he said. "I along with my relatives are on our way to Azamgarh where his last rites will be performed," he added.

(With inputs from agencies.)