Bhavani Devi, who was killed in the blast on Church Street, would have been safely in the train back to Chennai on Sunday night if only she had got tickets. The 37-year-old homemaker and resident of Border Thottam in Chennai had tried booking tickets on a night train but could not get confirmed tickets.
“She, along with her two children, was supposed to leave for Chennai on Sunday night but since they didn’t get confirmation, she booked tickets for Monday,” said her brother-in-law Mahendran, in whose house Bhavani and her children were staying.
Mahendran, a resident of Mavalli, near Lalbagh, said that Bhavani and her children — Bharath (15) and Lakshmi (11) — had come on Wednesday night.
On Sunday night, she left home with her children, Mahendran’s son Karthik, his daughter Priya and son-in-law Kasturi, and three others.
“They parked the car near Hotel Empire and were walking towards Amoeba Sports Bar when the blast took place. Bhavani and Karthik, who was injured in the blast, were walking with the children ahead of the others,” he said.
Bhavani succumbed to her injuries around 10.45 p.m. on Sunday. Her husband, N. Balan (46), who rushed to the city from Chennai, arrived around 6 a.m. here on Monday.
He said that he last spoke to his wife around 8 p.m. on Sunday. “The last thing she asked me was ‘ saaptiya’ (did you eat) before ending the conversation,” he said in a pained voice.
The mood at Victoria Hospital, where the post-mortem was conducted, was sombre with a large number of relatives and media personnel thronging the mortuary from 8 a.m. Doctors who conducted the post-mortem said that metal fragments were found in Bhavani’s body.
Bhavani’s children tried hard to control their tears as they stood with their family. While Bharath studies in class 10, Lakshmi is in class 6. A distressed Lakshmi refused to talk to anyone.
‘She was sweet, friendly’Relatives remembered Bhavani as a sweet and friendly person. “She was very calm and did not fight with anyone,” said Vijayalakshmi, a relative. Bhavani was the youngest of her siblings, two brothers and a sister, all settled in Chennai.
An ambulance carrying Bhavani’s body left from the hospital premises around 2 p.m. to Chennai where the funeral will take place.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) P. Harisekharan said that three vehicles were arranged to take the victim’s relatives and police personnel — a lady constable, an inspector and a Deputy Superintendent of Police from Chennai — accompanying them.
