First first-class pass brings bad luck

Luck was on the wrong side for Prakash Bhednekar, 28, a software engineer. His face was ripped off in the train blast at Mahim station on Tuesday evening.

It was just the second time he had travelled first class-following a recent promotion, he bought his first-class pass on Monday to celebrate it. There won’t be anymore celebrations for him, and his hometown, Lasangoan in Nasik district, will mourn the death of its first software engineer.

Prakash tied the knot on June 16, and had just shifted from his Bandra home to a bigger one in Mumbai Central on Sunday.

“He used to travel on bike. Since he just got married, his wife insisted that he travel by trains in the monsoon,” said a distraught Santosh Kute, his friend. Kute identified Prakash’s body in the mortuary. Kute didn’t know how to face them and Prakash’s wife, Suparna. “We are still figuring out how to break the news to Suparna. Prakash, who was going to Goregaon to meet his in-laws, had messaged his wife at 6pm, saying he would be home soon,” said another friend.