Hyderabad: More than 10 years after the twin bomb blasts set off at Dilsukhnagar on a February evening, survivors continue to live with the aftermath. Their wounds, some visible and others not, haven’t healed with time.
The Telangana High Court’s decision to uphold the death sentence on the five convicts offers little comfort to those who lost livelihoods, health, or family members in the blasts.
Nitish Agarwal was 31 when the blast near Venkatadri Cinema changed his life. He had been working at a garment store, helping a customer, when the explosion hit. “One second, we were looking at T-shirts, and the next, everything went dark,” he said.
He remembers seeing the customer’s body flung several feet away. The man died instantly. Nitish himself fell backwards into the store, his right arm badly burnt.
Hospitalisation lasted nearly a month for two separate operations, followed by five months in plaster. “I couldn’t go back to work for more than half a year,” he said. “I used to lift sacks, 20 or 25 kg, without a problem. Now lifting even five kg is difficult.”
The government promised to cover medical expenses, but by then, Nitish had already paid Rs 10,000 out of pocket. That is an amount that was never reimbursed. His two children were young at the time, and with no income, he had to rely on neighbours and relatives for support.
“They say justice has been done. But these court orders have been coming over and over again, the accused are still alive. Will they really be punished? I don’t feel like anything’s changed.”
While many were celebrating the verdict, the Kalpavalli Bangle Store which was gutted in the blast near A1 Mirchi pan store, had a very different mood. Unfazed, reluctant and unwilling to speak on the traumatic event of that night.
The owner’s right ear was damaged that day and it left him with a permanent hearing issue and visible deformity. He had to rebuild his store with a cost of Rs 4 lakh that was borne entirely by him. Asked about the verdict, he and others at the store chose not to dwell on it. “What happened, happened. Talking about it doesn’t change anything,” the owner said with fatigue.
Responding to the court’s verdict, survivor Bakka Reddy, who continues to face hearing loss, said the judgment would certainly render justice to them though it was too late.
“Till how many years we have to wait. The terrorists are still lodged in jail enjoying the benefits and they have no remorse for their barbaric act of killing innocent people in the blasts,” he said, requesting the government to execute the death penalty on the terrorists.
