VIDEO: Delhi Blast Near Red Fort Claims 12 Lives, 4 Victims From Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: Four people from Uttar Pradesh were among 12 who lost their lives in the powerful explosion that rocked Delhi near the Red Fort on Monday. The tragedy has cast a shadow of grief across several districts of the state, including Amroha, Bulandshahr, Shravasti, and Meerut.

In Amroha, the bodies of Lokesh Agarwal, a trader from Hasanpur, and Ashok Kumar, a DTC bus conductor from Mangraula village, reached their homes on Tuesday morning. All night, relatives and neighbours waited anxiously for their arrival. As the bodies arrived, wails filled the air, and hundreds gathered outside their homes to pay their last respects.

At Hasanpur, people from nearby areas thronged the residence of trader Lokesh Agarwal. Members of various trade and social organisations gathered to offer condolences. The cremation of Lokesh was delayed until the arrival of his younger brother Sanju, who was travelling from Ahmedabad. The family broke down as arrangements were made to take the body to the Ganga ghat for the final rites.

In Mangraula, grief turned into protest when villagers accompanying the body of Ashok Kumar to the cremation ground stopped midway, blocking the road with a tractor-trolley. The family and villagers demanded immediate financial assistance from the government, citing the poor condition of Ashok’s household.

The protest led to a traffic jam in the area. Senior officials, including SDM Pushkar Nath Chaudhary and CO Deep Kumar Pant, rushed to the spot to pacify the protesters. Dr. Digvijay Singh Bhati, national president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BR Ambedkar faction), termed the incident tragic and urged the government to provide at least Rs 5 lakh as accident compensation along with other financial aid to the bereaved family.

In Shravasti, another life was snuffed out in the same explosion. The deceased, identified as a young man from a modest background, left behind three small children. His father said he learned about the tragedy from television reports. The family, already struggling to make ends meet, now faces an uncertain future.

Meanwhile, in Meerut, the family of 35-year-old Mohsin, who drove an e-rickshaw in Delhi, is inconsolable. Mohsin had moved to the capital two years ago to earn a living. On the day of the blast, he was ferrying passengers when his e-rickshaw was caught in the explosion. He died on the spot.

Mohsin was the sole breadwinner for his family, which includes his wife and two young children. His elderly mother wept uncontrollably as the body arrived at their rented home in Meerut. “My son was simple and hardworking. He kept asking for small loans to keep his rickshaw running. Now both his rickshaw and my son are gone,” she cried. The family plans to bury him in Meerut.

The Delhi blast, which claimed 12 lives and left several injured, has shaken families across Uttar Pradesh. From the crowded lanes of Hasanpur to the dusty roads of Mangraula, grief and anger are palpable. Families are not only mourning their loved ones but also demanding justice and adequate compensation from the government.

As the smoke clears in Delhi, the pain continues to spread far beyond the capital — into the heart of small towns and villages of Uttar Pradesh, where lives have been forever altered by a tragedy they never imagined would touch them.