Pratima, mother of Ansuman Pratihar who spoke to her son hours before the tragedy, finds it hard to believe that his 24-year-old son is no more. Ansuman was among the six who lost their lives in the accident at the Metro extension site in south Delhi, a stretch being built by Gammon India.

“Nobody from the government or the private company has come to us or even called us to inform about the mishap. It was Ansuman’s friends who called us on Sunday. Isn’t it the responsibility of the government and Gammon India to at least inform us about the mishap? There was no word even from the local police,” Shankar said.

Ansuman, who passed out from the Bishnupur Engineering College two years ago, was among the first youths in the Sukhjora village to have become an engineer. He had recently joined Gammon India and was working for the Metro extension project.

“I spoke to him Sunday morning. He had called me from the site. I told him to have his food in time and take care of himself. You know he is a nice boy and calls me everyday,” said an inconsolable Pratima.

Ansuman’s younger brother Kaushik is in the Army and is posted in Jammu and Kashmir. “We use to be worried about Kaushik as he is in Kashmir. We thought Ansuman is safe working in Delhi. But we were so wrong,” Shankar said.

The family is preparing to send two of their relatives to Delhi to to bring back Ansuman’s body to Bankura.