After the Red Fort Blast, Grief and Waiting Outside LNJP Hospital

• Outside LNJP Hospital, anxious families waited for updates, clutching phones and documents as police barricades and media crowds filled the area.

• Grief and frustration mingled with relief, as some families found their injured relatives while others left the mortuary in mourning.

• By Tuesday, at least 13 people were confirmed dead and over 20 injured. At the LNJP mortuary, families struggled to identify bodies “beyond recognition.”

By Tuesday morning, outside Delhi’s Lok Nayak Jaya Prakash Hospital (LNJP), the air was full with anxiety and exhaustion. Police barricades still blocked the most of the gates as relatives, many clutching mobile phones, documents, exchanged glances, and prayed. Media crews stood behind lines of police barricades, shouting questions into their microphones. This was the scene a day after the blast near the Red Fort metro station.

Around 7 p.m., Monday, a car had exploded near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort metro station. It set off panic in the heart of Old Delhi. By midnight, at least 13 people were confirmed dead and over 20 injured. Investigators suspected the use of high-intensity explosives and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with forensic teams had taken over the site.

At the hospital gate, among the waiting families was that of Mohammad Shahnawaz, 35, a cab driver from Kucha Rehman, Old Delhi. He’s was among the injured and his family had been waiting to meet him through the night. His father-in-law Mohammad Aarafin, brother-in-law Mohammad Naseem, and sister-in-law Kulsum stood in the crowd. His wife Bushra was allowed inside to see him in the afternoon. Naseem said that Shahnawaz’s car, parked near the blast site in the informal taxi-stand zone, was completely destroyed; he had sustained multiple injuries on his face and body. “It’s possible that most of those injured were e-rickshaw pullers or taxi drivers. That spot is like a stand for them,” said Mohammad Naseem. “We are thankful to the Almighty that he is alive, and relieved that at least someone from the family was allowed to see him.”

Nearby, relatives of Mohammad Farooq, 55, a refrigerator mechanic from Kucha Challan in Chandni Chowk, stood in small groups. Farooq, they were told, had injured his legs. His wife Khair-un-Nisa had been allowed in, while others waited outside. “After lunch, he went towards Lal Qila for some work,” said Nazia, Farooq’s sister-in-law. “When we didn’t hear from him for a long time, we got worried. Later, we received a call from LNJP Hospital saying he had been brought in with injuries. They told us his legs are badly hurt. Since then, only his wife has been allowed inside, and the rest of us have been waiting here. We are just hoping to see him once.”

Among those waiting was also the family of Shiva Jaiswal, 27, a garment businessman from Uttar Pradesh who often travelled to Chandni Chowk for work. On Monday evening, Shiva was expected at his uncle Shailendra Jaiswal’s home in Delhi’s Kalkaji. When he didn’t arrive at the usual time, the family grew anxious and began calling him repeatedly. “We were expecting him by evening, but his phone just kept ringing,” Shailendra said. “Later, when we saw footage of the Home Minister visiting the hospital, we suddenly recognised Shiva lying on one of the beds. Only after that did we get a call confirming he was among the injured. We were relieved to have found him, but the waiting and the silence from the hospital staff were so hard.”

All around, outside the hospital gates, these stories overlapped. Many families said that only a single member of their group had been permitted inside at a time, while the rest waited outside, unsure of progress. An employee at the LNJP Hospital mortuary, who had just completed his early morning shift, described the scenes from the night as “gruesome”. “The bodies that came in were beyond recognition. Some were just lumps of flesh. Many had their internal organs torn apart or missing. It was hard to tell one from another. That’s how devastating it was,” he said.

One such family was that of Noman. He was among those who had died in the blast near Red Fort Metro Station on Monday evening. On Tuesday morning, his family held each other tightly, trying to console one another after identifying his body. As authorities took away his remains wrapped in a white cloth, the mourning family followed the ambulance quietly.

A compensation package has been announced for those affected by the blast, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announcing Rs.10 lakh for the families of the deceased, Rs. five lakh for victims who suffer permanent disabilities, and Rs. two lakh for those injured in the incident.