Pune blast: IT professionals scared, shaken and lost

A long weekend of celebrations came to a bloody end

Many young IT professionals were at the receiving end of the blast at German Bakery, a hotspot among youngsters, on Saturday. Two employees of the Indian arm of Israeli firm Amdocs -- 22-year-old Binita Gadani of Mumbai and 21-year-old T Sinduri of Hyderabad -were among the nine dead while five youngsters, all employees of a leading IT firm in the city, are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the city.

Parents of both Sinduri and Gadani reached the city in the morning and identified the bodies.

Friends who came to Sassoon Hospital after getting to know of the tragedy found it difficult to console the grieving parents. "`We are shattered; there are no words to express our feelings," said one of them.

Five youths, all employees of Hinjewadi-based Tech Mahindra, were among the injured.

"They had gone to German Bakery after seeing off a friend at the railway station. Two of them were placing orders when the blast took place. They have been admitted to Ruby Hall while three are undergoing treatment at Medi Point. They suffered cuts and burns. They are all recovering now," a colleague said.

Though shaken, the foreigners in the city do not seem to have been terrified by the German Bakery blast. Less than 24 hours later, their reactions seemed quite the opposite.

James Myers, a resident of London, who has been in the city for the last four weeks, felt there was nothing unsafe about the city. "I keep shuttling down to Pune on official purposes frequently. While the residents are peaceful and so is the place, one such bomb blast cannot really make it unsafe. Blasts happened in London too, but we didn't have foreigners running away from our nation, and why should I be doing something like that here?"

While most foreigners who live in the Koregaon Park area are regulars at the Osho Ashram, which is within walking distance of German Bakery, the area also houses a lot of tourists and foreigners who work with the MNCs in the city.

"I was home when I heard the blast, which rattled my windows. My family was scared when we heard of the blasts, and since we used to frequent the German Bakery, it was a shocker for us. But we won't be leaving Pune.

It's a safe place. I have been here for the past two years and it has been good enough for me," said Boris Engel from Germany.

Next page: `I feel like committing suicide... God has taken away everything'

Anindyee last question: Why are the woods beautiful even when covered by snow

Pune/Kolkata: Numb with grief, parents of Anindyee and Ankik Dhar had to wait an entire day before they could get a glimpse of their children who died in the bomb blast on Saturday night. Sobbing uncontrollably, mother Alpana kept calling out her children's names as she sat outside the morgue at Sassoon General Hospital in Pune.

Alpana and husband Kamalendu Dhar had rushed to Pune from Kolkata on Sunday mornng. Their other child Oishik, who is preparing or Class XII exams, is on his way too.
Earlier, when contacted in Kolkata, Kamalendu said, "Please do not disturb us. I feel like committing suicide. I spent my whole life compromising on our needs to shape our children's career and now God has taken away everything."

While the mother is a home-maker, the father works with the ONGC in Assam. Stunned, they sat for hours for the post-mortem to get over. The hospital handed over the bodies at 5 m.

Anindyee, also known as Ankhi, was a first year BA Economics student at Fergusson College and her brother Ankik, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, worked for J P Morgan, Mumbai.

Their common friend Suman Mondal said Ankit had decided to visit Pune as it was a long weekend. They were joined by their friend Shilpi Goenka, who too died in the blast.

Anindyee had topped in the internal exam of English optional subject recently. "No sooner her brother landed, they decided to celebrate at the German Bakery in the evening," said Andriele De, Anindyee's classmate at Bharati Vidya Bhavan School in Kolkata, where even Ankik studied.

On February 11, Anindyee attended what turned out to be her last lecture in the college. "I was teaching Robert Frost's poem `Stopping by the woods' when Anindyee asked, `How are the woods beautiful despite being covered with snow?'," recalled one of her professors.

Andriele said her last meeting with Anindyee as two weeks ago when she, along with a few of their friends, had gone to the National Defence Academy. "She always spoke of making it big as a photographer," she said.

Next page: IIT-Kharagpur remembers its `Tempoda'

Ankik Dhar was a brilliant student and an all-rounder

Kolkata: A pall of gloom descended at the Patel Hall of Residence -- a hostel at IIT-Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp) -- after the news of Ankik Dhar's death in Saturday's Pune blast reached the institute.

On Sunday evening, hundreds of students participated in a candlelight march from the Patel House of Residence -- where 24-year-old Ankik used to be a boarder.

Ankik, who graduated in 2009 from the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, studied at the institute from 2005-2009.

"We learnt about Ankik from our seniors working in Pune. Students remember him for his enthusiasm in academics, extra-curricular activities and zest for life. Here he was nicknamed as Tempoda for being full of enthusiasm about everything," said Shubham Matah, vice president of IIT-Kharagpur Students' Gymkahana.

At IIT-Kgp, Ankik was not only a bright student but also a very popular one. He was well-known as the governor of the Bengali Technology Dramatics Society and goalkeeper of the football team.

"He was a very jovial student. He did an internship in the US and we always went to him for tips to do well in academics," said Sharad Sen Sharma, a fourth-year student and boarder of Patel Hall of Residence.

Ankik had received the best actor award for his activities associated with the dramatics society -he had acted and directed in nearly 15 plays in Bengali, English and Hindi. Students and fellow batch mates still remember the boarder of room number C-207 for the roles he played in Ashok, Choke Angul Dada, and Me and Myself.

"He was one of the most brilliant students we ever had," said C K Maity head of Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering. "The last time I me Ankik was in May last year when he graduated and left for a job in Pune," said Maity, who was also Ankik's faculty guide.

At the small residential colony in Salt Lake,K olkata, where the Dhar family lives, neighbours with whom Ankik and his sister grew up could not come to terms with the tragedy.

"Last night I received a call from our friend Minu who is in Pune. I informed the family. I could not tell them what had happened. I just said that Anindyee and Ankik were critical," said Chitrangada Chakrabarty, their friend since school days. Anindyee, a basketball player, represented her school at the national level, she added.

"Octo (Ankik's nickname) came here in November. While leaving he gave me Rs 200 and asked me to buy sweets for myself," sobbed Arun Das, the family's domestic help for 25 years.

Next page: Shilpi got a job just a few months ago in Pune

Shilpi who died in the blast was a friend of the duo and worked at a Pune-based IT firm.

She was a resident of Jamuna Apartment in Lake Town on the northern fringes of Kolkata.

It was in November that Shilpi, a computer engineer, had got a job in Pune.

"She is the youngest of three sisters. One of our relatives called us last night and broke the news. No one from the government or the police have informed us or helped us. We are bringing her body here," said Mahendra Saraog, her uncle, standing at the door of their residence.

"Please do not enter the house. We are all in a state of shock," he pleaded.

Next page: Mumbai techie changed plans and travelled, dies with two friends

A change of plan took Binita Gadani, 22, of Mumbai to her death in Saturday's blast at the German Bakery.

The IT professional had initially planned to spend the weekend with her family to celebrate her elder sister's engagement, but opted instead to party in Pune ahead of Valentine's Day. Her family is now waiting for her return to their Kandivli apartment, the bodybag expected later in the day.

The blast took a heavy toll on young IT professionals, killing Gadani and her friend, colleague and roommate T Sinduri, 21, of Hyderabad, besides injuring five youngsters, all employees of Tech Mahindra. Gadani and Sinduri worked with the Indian arm of Amdocs and shared a rented room.

Sinduri's friend Shilpa Goenka of Kolkata, who was working in Mumbai, was at the Valentine's Day party. She too was killed. The others killed include Ankik Dhar working with JP Morgan and his sister Anindyee.

The parents of both Sinduri and Gadani reached Pune in the morning and identified the bodies.

Gadani would have stayed in Mumbai for the weekend, but "she got a call from friends to party for Valentine's Day and she left on Saturday morning instead of Sunday," said a relative in Mumbai.

Gadani was barely 12 feet from the German Bakery when the blast took place. "We got the news in the evening and family members immediately left to Pune," said Praful Mehta, Binita's uncle. She will be cremated immediately after the body reaches the house.

Next page: Both 23, Sudanese football, volleyball stars may never play again

Footballers, with their legs amputated, battling for life

The winning goal that Anas AlFatih, a Sudanese student, scored against Iran last year during the annual football championship held among students of different nationalities in Pune, is still fresh in the minds of his friends. AlFatih may never score another goal. Saturday's blast claimed one of his legs, and he is in danger of losing the other as well.

Amjad Ahamed's friends talk about how he played in the 2009 Pune University Volleyball tourney. A game such as that he may never see again. One of his legs was amputated on Saturday, the other on Sunday.

Both 23 years old, AlFatih and Ahamed were at German Bakery on Saturday evening with their friend Keke, an Ethiopian national who is also recovering from his injuries now. AlFatih, called "master striker" by his fellow Sudanese players, studies in Poona College while Ahamad is a second year B.Sc student at Wadia College.

"I rushed to the Inlaks and Budrani Hospital after getting to know that Ahamed was injured. His one leg was amputated and the other one too. We are told that he is in coma... all our friends are praying for him," said Hagra Ali, a classmate of Ahamed, who remembers him as a cheerful person, both on and off the volleyball field.
German Bakery is a regular hangout for the closely knit 400-member Sudanese community in the city.

"Anas was sitting with Amjad in the bakery at the time of the blast. We got to know about the incident from our friends. The doctors now say he might not be able to play football again," said Yassir Mohd Hag, AlFatih's friend who managed to meet him after the blasts.

While one of Anas's legs is fractured, the other one is in a bad condition. "Besides, he has got 72 per cent burns, with third-degree burns on his legs. They have planned an angiography of the right leg and depending upon the result, the decision to amputate the leg or to try for non-invasive treatment would be taken," he said.

Ahamed came to Pune two years ago, while AlFatih came a year ago. Mohammed Alnour, the captain of the Sudanese football team in Pune, remembers AlFatih as the player who won their team the annual football championship held among students of different nationalities in 2009. "I got the opportunity to hold the cup because of him. He was awarded best player," said Alnour.

Ahamed's parents are settled in Oman and AlFatih's in Qatar. "Till yesterday, in our language, we would call this city Poona Al Hanoona, meaning lovely Pune," said Hag. "While our love for Pune will never lessen, the tag might need serious thinking."

Next page: 18 hours on, Iranian youths find friend dead

Friends run around hospitals with a photo

For nearly 18 hours, a group of Iranian students had been running from one hospital to another, looking for their friend who had gone missing after the German Bakery blast on Saturday. They finally found him around 2.30 pm on Sunday, at the Sassoon Hospital morgue.

Saeid Abdul Khani (26), who was learning English at Symbiosis College, was staying in a rented flat a few blocks away from the German Bakery. He had told his roommates around 7 pm on Saturday that he was going to German Bakery for a cup of coffee.

Around 7.30 pm, after hearing a loud noise, his friends had rushed downstairs to land themselves in the chaos that followed the blast.

"We could not locate Saeid among the injured. As the injured and the dead were being taken to hospitals, we followed them," said Adiel Kaab, an Iranian student of Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce.

They had tried to contact Saied on his cellphone. "First he was not reachable, then the cellphone was switched off. After failing to get him on the phone, we decided to go to various hospitals."

The youngsters dashed to the nearby Inlaks and Budhrani hospitals first, to which some of the injured were shifted, with a colour laser printout showing the tall and well-built Saied wearing a white shirt and blue jeans.

Then they went to Ruby Hall, Jehangir and Surya hospitals. The stock reply they got was that no such person has been admitted to or brought in.

They showed the laser image to everyone they came across; policemen, politicians, journalists or onlookers. Wherever they went or whoever they asked, they were told that the list of injured or dead did not carry the name. Tired, his friends then decided to wait for his return, believing that he must have gone to an acquaintance's place. "But, the problem was that Saeid did not have many friends. We were not sure where he was."

In the morning, the youths decided to make one last-ditch attempt in the same hospitals. When they landed at Sassoon Hospital, they contacted the police after the hospital authorities announced again that Saied was not among the list of injured or dead. The police informed them that there was only a body that had to be identified at the hospital, but it was that of a woman.

However, the youths decided to check the bodies in the morgue and there they came across the body of Saied.

Next page: He came to city for a living, but it took his life

Shankar Pansare was thrown off his autorickshaw

Shankar Pansare, 27, had migrated to Pune from Velhe taluka to make a living. He took to riding an autorickshaw to feed his family of wife, two children and ailing parents. And his vocation proved fatal for him on Saturday, when he was thrown off his autorickshaw in the German Bakery blast.

Pansare was passing by the bakery when the blast took place. His passengers, however, escaped with injuries.

"He was not making sufficient money from our farm land in Velhe, which made him come to the city. He also had to support his parents in the village," said his brother-in-law Pandharinath Marathe.

Pansare, who had failed in class X, had come to the city soon after his marriage and he had been staying at a rented place in Dhankwadi village with wife, three-year-old daughter and one-year-old son. He had been riding the autorickshaw on a daily rent.

"It was only after the police called up around 11 pm that we got to know that Pansare was one of the victims. The police identified him from his licence and got in touch with us," said Ramesh, elder brother of Pansare. Their paralysed father cannot contribute to the family earnings.

He said Pansare was, with a daily earning of Rs 200, struggling to provide for his family.

Deepak, another relative, said over two dozen relatives had come to Sassoon Hospital to claim the body for performing the last rites, but they were kept waiting till afternoon.

"We were kept waiting for long and no information was given to us though the body was identified last night itself."

Next page: Providential escape: One didn't find space to sit, wall saved others

It was a miracle for a few

On Saturday, Vikas Shigwan had travelled 40 minutes from the city outskirts to meet his fiancee at the German Bakery. She was coming in an autorickshaw from Vishrantwadi. The packed bakery had no spare chair; Vikas waited for 10 minutes then went inside to the counter to order coffee.

"I had already been waiting. When she came, we hardly spoke for two minutes. I went in to make the payment," Vikas said.

Around that time, Amrvati-based Santosh Chadwani was travelling to meet his uncle who is admitted to the Inlaks Budrani Hospital. He had come that evening from Mumbai, alighted from the train at the railway station, hailed an auto and headed straight to the hospital at Koregaon Park. That night, Vikas and Santosh found themselves admitted to the same room at the Inlaks Budhrani hospital. When Vikas was paying for the coffee and Santosh was crossing the German Bakery in the auto ­ just a few minutes after Vikas's fiancée found a chair to sit, the blast shook the place.

It was Paras, one of the waiters who had first noticed an unattended bag lying in the open area, said the bakery manager Ramgopal Karkee. Paras had almost reached out for the bag, when a customer asked for water.
By then, Gokul, the other waiter, had handled the bag.

The blast occurred in the open premises, where several people were seated. Vikas was partly saved because of the dividing wall of the bakery.

"We were five or six of us at the counter paying our bills. When the blast occurred, we were buried under the wall," Vikas said. "There was glass and blood every where. Some people were burning, there was a lot of smoke," he said. He jumped the wall, found his fiancée and took her to the hospital. She is in the ICU.
"When the blast occurred, the auto was thrown off the road," Santosh said.

He has sustained severe injuries and has lost most of his possessions. Even now his travel bag is now with the police. Vikas thinks his bike might be with the traffic police. A police check point is only around 50 metres from the bakery.

Eyewitnesses say that a police van patrols the zone almost on an hourly basis ­ also because of its proximity to the Israeli Chabad House.

"Even on Saturday, cops with sten guns were patrolling the area throughout the day," said Nitin Phunphagar, who runs a travel agency a few buildings.

Next page: Tech Mahindra employees recovering

Friends were chilling out when blast took place

The five employees of Hinjewadi-based Tech Mahindra had gone to German Bakery after seeing off a friend at the railway station. "Two of them were placing orders when the blast took place. They have been admitted to Ruby Hall while three are undergoing treatment at Medi Point.
They suffered cuts and burns. They are all recovering now," a colleague said.

Sumit Singh, employed with the Aditya Birla Group, had gone to the bakery with three friends - Abishek Kumar, Rajeev Agarwal and Hrishab.

He is now under treatment at Inlaks Budhrani Hospital. His brother Kumar Manish, who had come from Delhi, said: "I switched on the TV after getting to know that there was a blast in Pune and the first visual that I saw was of my brother with all his face burnt.

He has fractured one leg, burnt his face and has boils on the body."

"One of Abishek's legs has been amputated while Rajeev has undergone a surgery. Hrishab is recovering," said Abishek Kujur, a friend.

Source: The Indian Express