Tragedy’s face that went around the world

“He walked towards me, holding two children. They were covered in blood.

“He walked towards me, holding two children. They were covered in blood. He said Sahib, my wife is probably dead, I have to find her, please take my children to the hospital. The children were crying Mummy, Mummy.” Head Constable Suresh Salunkhe of the Government Railway Police at the CST station can never forget that sight — Vasai utensil-seller Bharat Nevadiya, bleeding profusely from gunshot wounds in the shoulder and on the back, pleading with him to save three-year-old Anjali and one-year-old Viraj.

Salunkhe says he scooped up Viraj with one hand and held on to Anjali with the other. He stopped Bharat from heading towards a pile of bodies to look for wife Poonam. “I told him you can look for your wife later but come with me to the hospital first. You are bleeding, get yourself treated.” Salunkhe then ran for a stretcher.

At the hospital, as Bharat was wheeled into the operation theatre, the children kept “crying for Mummy”, scared by the sight of bodies and blood on the floor. “I spotted a water-cooler. I tried to clean their faces, they had blood all over. There was a bottle lying there. I removed the cap and made them drink some water. That quietened them somewhat.”

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It was this image of Salunkhe with one of the children that went around the world when The Economist carried the picture as its cover.

Salunkhe says he had no idea that someone had taken their picture. “I was told about it by friends and family. But it really doesn’t matter. I am happy I could save the children and Bharat.”

The children’s mother, Poonam, was not so fortunate. She was taken to hospital with the other injured. Shot in the head, she died on Monday — five days after she and her family went to the CST to board the Geetanjali Express to Kolkata. Bharat has not been told she is dead. “Doctors have told us not to break this to him yet. His condition is still critical. He will not be able to take the shock,” says elder brother Ravi. But it is little Viraj who is Ravi’s big worry. “He refuses to drink milk or sleep. He wants his Mummy.”

The RJD’s key face and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav, party supremo Lalu Yadav’s son, will again contest from his stronghold Raghopur.

Amid Mahagathbandhan crisis, RJD unveils list of 143, drops 36 MLAs, focuses on ‘M-Y’

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The RJD, lead player of the Mahagathbandhan, released its full list of 143 candidates for the November Bihar Assembly elections. Its key face Tejashwi Yadav will contest from Raghopur, and 41 sitting MLAs have been renominated. The party has dropped 36 sitting MLAs and fielded young leaders, signaling a bid to consolidate its core Muslim-Yadav vote base. The Congress has fielded 60 candidates.

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