JOIN USWednesday morning began like any other day for Prabhakar Sabnies. A Head Constable with Karnataka State Reserve Police, he left home at 6.30 am, and reported for duty at 8 am. Little did he know that at around 10.30 am, his world would change.
“I was sitting behind the driver’s seat when I heard a loud noise and saw the glass pane in the vehicle shatter. The explosion was so ear-shattering that I thought the blast happened on the seat next to mine. It felt so close,” he said. Sabnies was one of the 12 KSRP policemen injured in the blasts that took place outside the BJP headquarters at Malleswaram at around 10.35 am.
With the upcoming elections, the KSRP personnel were stationed at the party office as part of their election duty. Sabnies, who rushed to help his colleague Ganesh Rao did not till later realise how severely he was injured. “I asked somebody to take him to the hospital and then realised my phone was vibrating. It was when I answered it that I realised I could not hear anything,” he says. His wife Lakshmi added, “It was my call. We heard the news and I tried calling him. But he just kept saying hello.” Sabnies was found unconscious near the blast site and was brought to the K C General Hospital by the locals.
Since Wednesday Sabnies has been completely deaf. Ajay Mishra, Administrator, P D Hinduja Sindhi Hospital, where he was shifted from K C General Hospital, said: “he has lost up to 80 per cent hearing ability in both his ears. He may or may not regain it.” His daughter Preethi, a psychologist at St John, said the doctor had asked them not to lose hope. “He can hear faintly from his right ear. But there is no improvement in the other ear,” she said. Talking to us in sign language, Sabnies says “Ganesh Rao was severely injured. How is he now?”
Many injured KSRP personnel complained loss of hearing at least in one ear. Though their condition has improved since Wednesday, five of them still struggle to hear. K V Jayanna, who was discharged Thursday evening said, “there is a low buzzing in my ear. All voices sound very distant. The doctors said it will be fine in a week.” All the five have been refered to NIMHANS for further care.