Two days after blast, pain and prayers continue

All four were warded in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital. All of them took splinters, shrapnel and nails in their lower pelvic area.

"We are trying our best, we never lose hope on any patient till the last moment," Sunil Saxena, head of the Accidents and Emergency Department, told IANS.

At least 13 people were killed and nearly 100 injured when a powerful bomb concealed in a briefcase and left at a crowded gate of the court exploded Wednesday morning.

The last person to succumb to his injuries was an official from the Tuticorin Port Trust in Tamil Nadu who was seriously injured in the legs. He died Thursday night at the hospital.

While most of the injured were rushed to RML Hospital in the heart of Delhi, some were shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where two people are still undergoing treatment.

Two patients -- Ronald, 62, and Sanjay Goel, 36 -- moved out of RML Hospital against medical advice. Both, doctors said, have taken admission in private hospitals.

Detectives have spoken to several of the injured, except the most critically wounded, to know their background -- in the unlikely chances of discovering that one of them could be the elusive bomber.

After two days of intense media glare and VIP visits, the crowds had thinned Friday at the RML Hospital.

Saxena said that Home Secretary R.K. Singh and officials from the Prime Minister's Office visited the injured Friday morning and handed over compensation cheques.

Between the Prime Minister's Office and the Delhi government, Rs.5 lakh will be paid to the families of the dead. The survivors will get varying amounts dependent on the nature of their injuries.

Among the anguished visitors of the injured, some were happy their patients had shown improvement. Others continued to complain that the RML Hospital was not forthcoming with information, more so at night.

"It is difficult to get information, specially during the night," moaned Sudarshan Kumar, whose relative Rajesh Kumar is still at RML Hospital. "We are poor, we can't shift him to a private hospital."

Jaspal Kaur, wife of Tarsen Singh, who was injured in the blast, said: "Initially they were not letting us meet him, but now that he is improving they allowed us to meet him.

"He has undergone three surgeries. I hope I am able to take him home soon," said the woman from Mehrauli in south Delhi. The couple have two children.