Relatives of an e-rickshaw driver outside a mortuary in New Delhi
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
Fear, exhaustion, and faint hope filled the corridors of Lok Nayak Hospital on Tuesday as families waited outside the casualty ward to see their loved ones injured in the Red Fort blast.
More than 20 people injured in the explosion are being treated at the premier medical facility, with three in critical condition. Among the injured is 32-year-old garment trader Shiva Jaiswal from Deoria, Uttar Pradesh.
His sister, Purnima Jaiswal, first identified him on a television broadcast showing Union Home Minister Amit Shah visiting survivors at the hospital on Monday evening. “We had been calling his phone since we heard about the blast, but it wasn’t connecting. When I saw him on TV, we rushed straight to the hospital,” Ms. Purnima recalled.
His cousins and a friend travelled overnight from Deoria to join the family. “His wife wanted to come, but their two children are very young,” one cousin said. Ms. Purnima insisted on staying at the hospital through the night, refusing to leave until she could get an update on her brother’s condition.
Mr. Jaiswal, who visits Delhi every month to stock up on supplies for his shop, had arrived in the city on November 9 and was scheduled to return home two days later. Instead, his trip turned tragic.
He suffered fractures to his nose, hand, and spine and remains under treatment. “We got to know in the morning that he is stable, but we have not been able to meet him yet,” said Purnima’s husband, Nitin Jaiswal.
Security beefed up
Security remained tight, and access to the hospital’s emergency wing was restricted as most of the injured were brought here overnight.
Outside the ward, families of other survivors waited anxiously. Shakir Khan, 38, a cab driver from Gurugram, had been parked near the Red Fort after dropping off a passenger when the blast occurred.
“He had head injuries but was conscious. He broke the glass window and managed to get out,” said his brother Taufiq Khan, who rushed to Delhi overnight with their father after receiving a call from Mr. Shakir moments after the explosion.
“We waited outside the hospital gate the entire night before being allowed in this morning,” he added, as their father pleaded with a police constable for permission to see his injured son.
Most patients stable
Doctors in the emergency ward told The Hindu that most patients were stable, though several had suffered severe burn injuries and amputations.
The usually crowded outpatient area at the hospital remained cordoned off under heightened security, as families continued their long, desperate wait for any piece of news from inside the ward.
Published – November 12, 2025 01:47 am IST
