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Between 3rd bomb & death, stand DTC driver & conductor
 The story of the blast on a packed Delhi Transport Corporation bus in south Delhiâs Govindpuri could have been similar to those of the two crowded markets. But a few seconds before the bomb went off, Budh Prakash and Kuldeep Singh changed the terroristsâ script. Prakash, 42, the conductor of the DTC bus on the Outer Ring Road route and Singh, its driver, are now at Delhiâs All India Institute of Medical Sciences â Prakash with minor injuries and Singh in a critical condition. But their presence of mind saved scores of passengers. The Govindpuri toll: No death, nine injured. A passenger sighted a black rexin bag three seats behind the driverâs and alerted Prakash. He made the driver stop the bus. ââThere were 100 passengers on the bus at that point so we stopped the bus near Okhla Mandi and took the bag out. The driver saw a wire hanging out of the bag which was about two-feet long. The only solution seemed to be to throw the bag away and as the driver was doing that, the blast happened,ââ said Prakash who has minor injuries on his arm. Singh is seriously injured. ââHis whole arm has burnt and he is in a critical state at the moment. Had the conductor and the driver not taken action in time, many lives would have been lost,ââ said DTCâs chairman and managing director A. Majumdar. ââThe man who had the black bag probably got down from the bus near Kalkaji Temple,ââ said Devi Lal, a DTC employee. Afzal, a labourer, had just boarded the bus when the driver asked the passengers to rush out. ââIt all became dark and I injured my arm with everyone rushing out. The bus was absolutely packed when they asked us to step off.ââ Glass splinters on the road and the smashed windshield of the bus with a dried blood stain told the story of an attack which was foiled. For the DTC official on the spot, it was a proud moment. ââWe had clearly instructed our staff to be on the look-out for any unclaimed baggage and had told them to move people out in case they spotted anything suspicious. Thank God they were alert today. If not for them....ââ Posted by: Fred 2005-10-30 |
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