When 19-year-old Neeraj was under the rubble of Delhi’s Satya Niketan PG, his family in Jammu identified him on TV: His father recalls the small detail he saw
A day before the Satya Niketan PG collapsed, 19-year-old Neeraj Bawa called his father in Jammu with news about his second-semester results. “I had talked to him just one day before. Neeraj informed his dad that he had passed the exams. It was their last normal conversation.The following afternoon, Darshan switched on the television at around 3 pm in his Kathua home, and saw images of the building collapse in Delhi’s Satya Niketan. Neeraj was studying in the capital and was staying at the PG.Darshan’s family began looking closely at the visuals from the rescue operation. It was Neeraj’s sister who noticed something familiar on the person being pulled out from the debris- the rakhi on his wrist. That was how the family recognised him. Neeraj had been trapped beneath the collapsed building.
He sent his location while trapped
Neeraj, a BA student at Motilal Nehru College, had moved to Delhi from Jammu for his education. When the building came down, he managed to remain in contact with friends outside. He called them and shared his live location.His father later showed reporters Neeraj’s phone while recounting those moments. The location helped his friends identify where he was trapped and reach the area where rescue teams were working. Neeraj remained under the debris for several hours before he was rescued.What surprised his father was what Neeraj told him afterwards. “I told my son to not fear anymore and he replied saying- ‘Papa, I wasn’t scared inside when this happened,’” Darshan told Newslaundry.For a father hearing this from a son who had just been pulled out from under a collapsed building, the words also offered a glimpse of what Neeraj had managed to do while he was still trapped: stay in contact, share his location and wait.
‘If you have a strong heart, you can see’
Neeraj was taken to AIIMS Delhi with severe injuries and has undergone surgery. His condition remains critical. Darshan said a doctor showed him a photograph of his son after the rescue. “The doctor took a photo of him and showed it to me. He said, ‘If you have a strong heart, you can see. The wounds are deep’” Darshan told India Today.Darshan said Neeraj had suffered severe injuries to both thighs. The family is now waiting at the hospital as doctors continue his treatment.In Neeraj’s family, he has three elder sisters and his father. His mother has passed away. One of his elder sisters, according to the family, has decided that she will not marry until her brother recovers.
The boy they recognised from a rakhi
The details of how Neeraj was identified have stayed with the family because there was little else to go by in the first images from the collapse. He was wearing a vest. His face was difficult to recognise. His sister noticed the rakhi.Neeraj was among those rescued from the Satya Niketan PG collapse, which killed seven people and injured five others. The incident took place on September 6 at a five-storey PG building in the area.The collapse has since led to scrutiny of the building and other paying-guest accommodations in the neighbourhood. Police have also arrested the PG operator as the investigation into the incident continues. For Neeraj’s family, however, the story remains much more immediate.Right now, they are waiting for the 19-year-old who had called his father to share that he had passed his semester exams- and whose identity, in the chaos of a collapsed building, was first recognised by something as small and personal as the rakhi on his wrist. And they are hoping that the next phone call from the hospital will bring another piece of ordinary news: Neeraj is recovering.
