Conspirators chose a busy court day

The court proceedings were about to start at 10.30 am. At least 300 litigants had queued up in three different lines to get passes. Suddenly, there was a deafening sound followed by a thick smoke near the gate.

As horror-struck lawyers, journalists, litigants and locals ran helter-skelter, some were too stunned to cry. Some discovered they were left with no limbs to move.

It was only after the heavy smoke triggered by the explosion withered away did they come to terms with the monstrosity of the act.

“By the time I realised what was happening, at least 50 people, hit by shrapnel and glass pieces, were lying on the ground in a pool of blood,” Ajay K Agarwal, advocate and an eyewitness, told Deccan Herald.

Recounting that he was just a few metres away from the blast site, waiting for his client when the blast took place, Agarwal said: “I heard heart-wrenching wails, disfigured men raising hysterical screams. A police control room vehicle parked near the Gate No 4 immediately rushed to the spot and sent SOS for emergency vehicles.” Soon, ambulances, police jeeps, National Security Guards commandos, National Investigation Agency officials and TV OB vans rushed to the spot. People, half-alive and with severed limbs, were put into vans and taken to hospitals.

Those who suffered minor injuries were taken to the high court dispensary. “The intensity of the blast was so high that court employees sitting at the reception counters fell backwards. The  windows of the counter were shattered, injuring some officials,” Sanjay Kumar Sharma, an advocate, who was close to the spot, said.

Due to severity of the blast, a BMW luxury car parked nearby virtually shook with all its airbags opening instantly.

A litigant Rajat Gupta said: “My first reaction was to duck. There was smoke all around and for the first few seconds, it was just haze. When I turned around, there were scores of people lying around me in pools of blood. Then I realised that I was also hurt with a shrapnel piercing my right hand,” he said.

Conspirators must have selected on Wednesday knowing that a lot of public come to the court as it was the day scheduled to hear the PILs. They wanted to inflict the maximum damage by detonating bomb close to the public entry gate where a large number of people gather to collect entry passes, said Namita Roy Chaudhury, an advocate.