The family of Sunil, who died after a truck crashed into a DTC bus early on Friday, was waiting for him to return when they came to know of his death.
The 36-year-old had left home on Thursday afternoon for his night shift that began at 3 p.m. and ended at 11 p.m.
It was while he was on duty that he received a call from his colleague, Pramod, asking for help and requesting for some food.
Sunil, however, forgot to inform his family.
Phone found locked
All this while, his family members went about their routine as they were used to occasional delays.
At the accident site, Sunil was helping the mechanics, who were under the bus, by up holding a torch.
It was at this point that a truck rammed the bus and killed Pramod and him.
Later, his injured colleagues found his phone in his pocket.
But none of them could inform his family as the phone was locked and password protected.
“A little less than two hours after the accident, Sunil’s wife observed that the delay had been longer than usual. She dialled his number and was shocked to hear of her husband’s death. Until then, none of us had any idea about what had happened,” said his brother, Yatish.
To add to their grief, the family had a tough time getting Sunil’s body back from Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital in north-west Delhi after the post-mortem exam.
“We were called at 9 a.m. to collect the body. It is 3 p.m. now and we are being asked to come on Saturday. Everyone is grief-stricken; we do not know what to do,” Yatish added.
Fortunately, the matter was resolved over the next couple of hours and the body was handed over to the family.
Sunil was the eldest of three brothers and lived in a joint family that included his mother, brothers and their wives and children. The main earning member for his family, Sunil was working on contract with the DTC.
Both deceased cremated
The second deceased, Pramod, was a permanent DTC staff member. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Bodies of both Pramod and Sunil have been cremated.
