After a sumptuous dinner at Coconut Grove on Church Street, six friends were standing and chatting outside the restaurant when the IED went off. Two of them were injured as they had their backs facing to the blast site. Though they initially mistook it for a cylinder blast, they soon realised that all was not well.
Sandeep H., a resident of Rajarajeshwari Nagar and an employee of iGate, and Vinay M.R., a resident of Basavangudi and an IBM employee, were injured. “We had all come out of the restaurant at around 8.30 p.m. and were standing inside the compound when the blast took place,” said Sandeep.
For five minutes after the blast, he recalled, there was absolutely no reaction from inside the restaurant. “Nobody panicked and people continued to eat. Suddenly, panic set in and they all spilled out into the street, and everyone was asked to evacuate. After the blast, I saw the body of a woman lying on the road,” Vinay said.
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“The first thing I thought was that it was some sort of cylinder blast. However, when I noticed there were splinters, I realised something was wrong.”
Another colleague, who was with them said: “Initially, I thought that that it could be a serial blast. I immediately asked my friends to move out as there was a possibility of another blast.”
Vinay added: “We had decided to meet as one of our friends, Sunil, had come down to the city from Hyderabad.” The friends brought Sandeep and Vinay in a car to HOSMAT Hospital.
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Dr. Ajit Benedict Royan , vice-president of Hosmat Hospital, said: “Sandeep has a metal fragment at the back of his knee joint. He will undergo a surgery in another few hours. Vinay has a blunt injury at the back of his leg. We have kept him under observation.”