Kin of 'missing' passengers hope against hope

Whereabouts of newlywed software couple from Bangalore not known

A newlywed couple, both software engineers in Bangalore, another young IT professional from IBM, an young doctor and her toddler son are among the 17 passengers of the ill-fated train who have been listed as “missing” by the authorities.

A pall of gloom descended on the Victoria Hospital as the charred bodies of the victims were brought there. Hundreds of relatives and friends of the missing passengers had gathered. They frantically ran through the list of passengers of the ill-fated coach B-1, which caught fire, killing 26 people.

The Railways had provided a list of passengers, with the alphabet ‘S’ written in front of the names of those who had survived the tragedy. With prayers on their lips, many of them went through the list, but were shattered when they found that their dear ones were among the ‘missing’.

Aniruddh Kulkarni from Nanded in Maharashtra is among the missing people. A software engineer with IBM Technologies in Bangalore, the 24-year-old techie was on his way to his native place. His colleagues who had come to the hospital on learning about the accident, said, “A policeman received the call when we dialled Kulkarni’s mobile number. We don’t know what it means. We pray for his safety.”

Software engineer couple - Srinivas and Srilatha - who tied the knot just six months ago, had left Bangalore for Anantapur on Friday night by the Nanded Express. But, nothing is known about their fate. Their relatives were anxious to know about their whereabouts. One of their relatives said, “I don’t know what has happened to the couple. We wish they are safe.”

Same is the case with Prathap Binay (43), a Bihar native, working with Cement Corporation of India at Tandur in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh. He had come to visit his ailing father-in-law in Bangalore. His wife and kids live in Patna.

Sukinder Singh is not sure about the fate of his mother, Balbir Kaur ( 52), an insurnace company official and a resident of Begur Road in Bommanahalli, and his younger sister, Amanpreet Kaur (24). He said: “I called up the railway officers but, they told they are yet to trace them. My father, Kamaldeep Singh was in another coach and hence he survived.”  Singh added that his parents and sister were on their way to a Gurudwara in Bidar.

Dr Ehtesham Rahi, a Raichur-based radiologist, is fearing the worst. For, his wife Dr Asra, 31 and their two-and-a-half-year-old son Moha­mmed are among the missing. Dr Rahi’s younger brother Ibra­him Rahi, who got married just two months ago, is also among the missing passengers. Dr Asra was doing her masters in pharmacology at a medical college in Raichur, said her sister Dr Shahin.