Hyderabad, Aug 27 (IANS) When a four-member family in Hyderabad went out for the weekend, little did they realise that death was on the prowl for them.
Mohammed Saleem, a realtor, his wife and their two sons aged 6 and 8 spent nearly two hours Saturday evening at Lumbini Park, a popular amusement spot on the banks of the Hussain Sagar Lake.
Half an hour before the first blast struck the park, they left for Gokul Chat, unaware that they were moving from one place to death to the other.
It was the temptation to have delicious chat that drove them towards the famous eatery about five kilometres from the park. The children Mohammed Ali, 6, and Mohammed Amir, 8, were keen to have spicy chat at their favourite food joint and the parents could not say no to them.
After parking their car, they all went into the crowded food joint. “Saleem called me from his mobile to inform that he is at Gokul Chat and will be reaching in half an hour to meet me,” said his brother-in-law Syed Shujauddin, who was waiting for him elsewhere in the city.
But Saleem, 42, his wife Syeda Farida Naaz, 37, and their two sons were among the 32 people killed in the eatery blast.
The four coffins were taken out from their home in Humayunnagar neighbourhood Sunday evening, bringing tears to hundreds of residents who attended the burial.