A big bang, and chaos on Church Street

BENGALURU: It was a chilly Sunday. With New Year round the corner, Church Street wore colourful baubles and stars, and eateries twinkled with fairy lights.
Diners were busy soaking in the chill when a big bang in front of Coconut Grove shook up the entire street at 8.30pm. There was confusion, no one knew what was happening as chaos spread. People began running towards the place where the sound was heard.A family standing at the spot began screaming. A woman lay in the middle of a pool of blood on the road.
The first clue was an unusual, burning smell in the air. It could have come only from a chemical or IED or an unusual device. Scattered shards of pots and the injured woman was a sign that something serious had happened.
Church Street suddenly turned eerie. As Bhavani, 37, lay on the road, her nephew, Karthik, 21, began calming down the children. Karthik himself was in pain as the blast had sent shrapnel into his left shoulder.
Diners rushed out of Coconut Grove and came to the family’s help. Passersby stood clueless.
It was 20 minutes by the time police and an ambulance arrived, though Cubbon Park police station is just half a kilometre away from the blast site. By then, autorickshaw driver Narasimha came to the rescue of the blast victims. Bhavani was bundled into the auto, and Narasimha drove the entire family to Mallya Hospital.
Police had no clue what had happened. They stood helpless and allowed passersby to walk and drive all over the area, and even on the pool of blood. They took their time to cordon off the area, and vital clues could have been lost. Luckily, there wasn’t a big crowd on Church Street, unlike other Sundays.
A woman ACP directed her men to cordon off the area using barricades lying nearby. She asked passersby where the injured were taken and rushed to Mallya Hospital.
By this time, news of the blast spread like wildfire. A huge traffic jam piled up on MG Road, parallel to Church Street.
Hundreds of people and media persons flocked to the cordoned area, trying to get a close glimpse at what was happening. Many of them were trying to capture ground zero, and sending messages via social media, alerting friends and families.
Those inside Coconut Grove were in shock. Many of those dining and drinking left the spot immediately, there was fear among the staffers who had to answer various queries from cops. The scene of shock and fear didn’t fade from the area till late night.
NO COPS OR AMBULANCE
There was complete chaos. Nobody knew what to do. Even after 20 minutes, police and medical staff failed to arrive at the spot. An auto driver drove them away. All the family members were crammed inside the rickshaw on the way to hospital.
M Arjun | entrepreneur