A day after the people of Mumbai were left shocked over the horrific Elphinstone Road stampede, the death toll rose to 23 after a 35-year-old man admitted to the ICU of the KEM hospital succumbed to his injuries on Saturday. To make matters worse, the family of the victim was forced to wait for another day to claim his body as autopsies were completely stalled in the civic-run hospital on Saturday evening.
The reason? A group of Shiv Sena goons tried to attack the head of the department, Dr Harish Pathak, as they were ‘protesting’ against the hospital’s decision to write numbers on the foreheads of deceased stampede victims.
A poster with pictures of the deceased victims was put up in the hospital premises on Friday, drawing criticisim from various quarters who alleged that the move was insensitive and showed complete lack of dignity towards those who lost their lives in the stampede.
The hospital’s authorities, however, said the decision was made in order to make it easier for the kin of the deceased to identify the bodies. While Pathak was in his office, a Shiv Sena member, identified as Nilesh Dhumal, barged into the room and tried to write the number zero on his forehead following a heated argument between the two.
THE WEEK’s correspondent was present in the hospital and witnessed this incident. Shortly after that, Dhumal was detained by Bhoiwada police officials, while the others who had accompanied him managed to flee the hospital.
The deceased victim, Satyendra Kumar Kanojia, was the sole bread-winner of his family and is survived by his wife and three young children, who live in a village called Jaunpur. “He used to live in Vikhroli with us and worked in a garments shop in Parel to support his family. He was on his way to work and crossing the Elphinstone road bridge when the stampede took place,” said Rajesh, his cousin, who was waiting outside the hospital’s morgue.
“Through WhatsApp, we got to know there was a stampede there and I repeatedly tried calling him. However, all of my calls went unanswered. A few hours later, our fear turned out to be true when a nurse from KEM hospital called us and said we should immediately come to the hospital,” added Rajesh. Satyendra was in an unconscious state since he was brought to the hospital and had to be put on ventilator support. While his condition was critical, he succumbed to his head injuries on Saturday morning at 11:30 am.
“He was the sole breadwinner of his family. Who will take care of his three young children? The youngest one is only four-year-old and his two sons are 12 and 7. We hope his wife and kids will receive some compensation from the government in order to make both ends meet,” laments Rajesh.
Meanwhile, 39 other people were injured in the stampede and had to be admitted to KEM hospital. Out of this, 30 are male and nine are female. As of now, doctors at the hospital say the condition of the other patients admitted in the orthopaedic wards is stable.
However, while 27-year-old Ritesh Rathod managed to survive the stampede with minor injuries, his relatives say he is unable to sleep and suffers from recurring nightmares about the incident. “In his sleep, he cries for help, and it is obvious he is very traumatised from the incident,” said Virendra Malekar, his close friend and colleague.
Rathod, who works in a stores production firm, was heading to Parel to meet a client when the stampede broke out. “People started shouting that the bridge is going to fall and everyone started running towards the entrance. A horde of bodies fell on me and I was trapped under them. I couldn’t move my hands or legs. That’s all I can remember before I fainted,” said Ritesh.
While his client, Tushar, kept calling him on his phone, it was finally answered by a Good Samaritan who helped pull Ritesh out and informed him about his whereabouts. Soon, the Vasai resident was taken to KEM hospital for treatment, where he is currently recuperating from a swollen shoulder and leg. “I’m still unable to walk or move my leg. The stampede was completely unexpected and I consider myself lucky to have survived,” he said.
