It’s 2 am and the family from Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, is the first to claim bodies from the 67 lying at the Panipat Civil Hospital mortuary. It has not been an easy decision. Waqil Khan lost five of his relatives from Pakistan in the blasts. All will be buried in India.

“My brother Tasleem Khan went to Pakistan in 1987 with his wife Nafisa after they were granted citizenship. They had eight children. This was his first visit, his wife and three children came with him. But he fell ill, had typhoid and could not leave on January 18, the date he was to return. We got the visa extended by a month. All five died in the blasts.”

Three other brothers also live in Putlinagar in Hathras. Waqil Khan says Tasleem went to Pakistan hoping for a better life. “Our condition is not so good. But he settled in Hyderabad (Pakistan) and got a job in a bangle factory. It took him 20 years to save enough money to visit us. Now he is no more. We just don’t know what to tell his remaining five children in Pakistan. They are all so young. We have simply told them that their parents are in a serious condition, that they should come to India as soon as they can. We don’t know what to do, we plan to keep the children with us.”

While Tasleem’s daughter Mehreen (18), Sajid (13) and Rulamin (6) died in the Samjhauta blasts, the five children in Pakistan are all below the age of 15.

Waqil Khan says there is little point in taking the five bodies to Pakistan. “Tasleem belonged to India, this was his home and those close to him are here. He had been in Pakistan for 20 years but perhaps it was Allah’s will that he die here and be buried here. He loved both Pakistan and India,” says Waqil.

By 3 am, Waqil has arranged a mini-truck. The hospital staff help him load the five coffins. It’s an eight-hour journey to Hathras. “I’m taking them home.”

Imam approached

PANIPAT: Panipat officials have approached a local Imam and identified a spot near the town where bodies which remain unidentified for four-five days may be buried. “It is possible that some bodies may remain unidentified as they are completely charred. The Muslims here have promised to help us bury the bodies if no one claims them. Later, if they are identified as Pakistani after DNA tests, the bodies can be exhumed and sent to Pakistan or wherever the next of kin desire,” said Sharad Kumar, IG (Rohtak Range).