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'They threw grenades...I am glad to
be alive'

Ramesh Menon in New Delhi

Constable Mahipal Singh of the Central Reserve Police Force lies on a stretcher, staring emptily at the ceiling in Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. His leg has just been bandaged in the emergency ward and the doctors have moved on to other victims who are being wheeled in.

As every new victim comes in, the look on Mahipal Singh's face gets more apprehensive. How many are dead, he asks a passer-by. A constable standing nearby gesticulates to the passer-by to keep quiet and move on.

Singh is waiting to be allotted a ward. He lies on a stretcher in the corridor as hospital staff rush about, giving patients first aid.

Jitendra Kumar, a constable from the Delhi police whom Singh never knew, stands by him holding a glucose bottle. "We are all your brothers," Kumar tells Singh, trying to calm him. "We will only leave when you are completely okay."

Singh finds it difficult to smile as pain racks his body. But his eyes tell Kumar he is grateful for the attention.

Blood has caked on his legs and hands. A young doctor who is rushing by stops to examine Mahipal Singh. The constable tells him his fingers are aching. The doctor examines each finger and tells him that it is unlikely any is broken. "It may be just splinter injuries from a grenade," he tells him.

Singh, who hails from Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district, wonders what his near and dear ones back home must be thinking. Another doctor comes by and wheels him into the X-ray room.

Singh fears there are bullets in his thigh. But after examining the X-ray film, the doctor announces that there are no bullets. Singh is wheeled out again into the corridor and arrangements are made to get him some place in a ward.

But the worry is far from over. Singh tries to raise his head to see where he is bleeding, but he cannot. He then wants to know if the other wounds will be bandaged. A doctor tells him that he will be attended to as soon as the other victims have been given first aid. He tells Singh that none of his injuries are serious as they are just splinter wounds.

As the doctor moves to another victim, Singh says: "My whole body is in pain. I wonder where all the splinters hit me."

Singh was on security duty in Parliament. On Thursday morning, everything was peaceful and quiet. But suddenly, the winter morning was shattered by the sound of gunfire.

He does not remember the exact time. "It was around 11.30am when I heard the sound of gunshots all around. From one of the gates of Parliament, the terrorists came in a car. They were wearing some kind of uniform."

"They had AK-47 rifles and started firing. We also started firing and I saw one of the terrorists die in front of me. Now I am told that all of them were shot dead. They also threw grenades. All the injuries on my body are from the grenades. I am glad to be alive," he says.

Complete Coverage: The Attack on Parliament

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