When he rushed to pick up a bomb bag and threw it out of his bus to save over 50 lives, little did Kuldeep Singh know that he will never be able to see his son.
NEW DELHI: When he rushed to pick up a bomb bag and threw it out of his bus to save over 50 lives, little did Kuldeep Singh know that he will never be able to see his son, who took birth two months after the blasts.
"The Delhi blasts occurred Oct 29 and my son took birth on Dec 16. I want to see my son," Singh, 43, who lost his vision in the blasts, said.
On Oct 29, 2005, a few days before Diwali, three blasts ripped through the national capital and killed at least 65 people.
Singh, then a DTC bus driver, spotted a bomb inside his bus and picked it up to throw outside. His bravery and presence of mind saved lives of over 50 people but took away his vision completely. His right hand was severely burned and he cannot even hear anything in his right ear.
"Sometimes I feel proud (for saving so many lives) but some other times I want to see my two and half year old son. Will I ever be able to do that," said an emotional Singh, spotting a black spectacle to hide his injury.
"Every time, I listen to the news of some bomb blasts, I feel dejected. I relive that Saturday when I lost everything - my eyes, one ear, one hand and ability to see my family.
His consolation? "My son Pradeep Kumar is a baby now but when he will grow up he will also feel proud (for being the son of a brave father)."
Singh was among a few who came out last week to offer prayers for people who have lost their lives in serial bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad.
Expressing his condolence for scores of families, Singh said: "I have lived that moment and don't want anyone to face the same situation. I fail to understand what terrorists get by killing innocent people?"
Talking about his condition and government support towards blast victims, Singh said the government has given him just Rs.63,000 but "I have already spent Rs.250,000."
He, however, said that he is grateful to Delhi Transport Corporation for giving him the job of a vehicle examiner instead of his earlier job of a driver.
"I am thankful to authorities but the salary of Rs.3,250 is too little to support a family."
He said he is undergoing treatment at L.B. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad and Shroff Eye Hospital in Delhi. "They are treating me free. I am going once in six months for eye check up."
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