Joyful reunion turns nightmare for 2 sisters

PATIALA: A joyful reunion turned out to be the worst nightmare for two sisters and their families. Mother of two, 33-year-old Preeti was very excited about hosting her sister, 30-year-old Radha, her husband, two children and mother-in-law for Dussehra festivities. They had come to Amritsar for the first time from Samrsa village, Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. They planned to visit Vaishno Devi shrine on Saturday morning. Now, the sisters are lying unconscious in two different hospitals, with their loved ones dead and missing. While both sisters have lost their husbands, Preeti has lost her elder son Abhishek (13). Her younger son Ayush (4) is struggling for life at Amandeep hospital.
Radha has lost her husband, 37-year-old Budh Ram. Her two children, Joyti, 8, and Sonu, 4, along with her 65-year-old mother-in-law, are missing. Raju, brother of Dinesh (38), Preeti’s husband, said all their relatives have gathered in Amritsar to search for Radha’s children and mother-in-law. But they are nowhere to be found. As they were not locals, no one recognizes them.

Dinesh and Budh Ram both worked as plumbers. They had booked train tickets to go to Vaishno Devi shrine on Saturday morning. Rakesh, Dinesh’s cousin, said no one in the family had ever met Radha’s children or her mother-in-law. “We managed to trace the number of Budh Ram’s brother, who lives and works somewhere in Himachal Pradesh and called him on Saturday. He will reach Amritsar on Sunday and we will take him to all hospitals in the hope that he might recognize Radha’s children and his mother,” Rakesh said.

Dinesh came to Amritsar 20 years back and planned to buy a house in Krishna Colony, where he lived in a rented accomodation with his family. “Now, everything is lost. Dinesh is gone and so is Abhishek. Preeti is lying unconscious and Ayush is struggling for life. What option do we have other than to surrender to the will of the God?” Rakesh lamented.