Written by Drishti JainNew Delhi | Updated: November 17, 2025 06:55 AM IST 4 min read(From left): Rahul Kaushik, Alam Azad, Ankush’s mother and Faruq. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)Muhammad Faruq (55) has a repairing shop in Daryaganj in Old Delhi. He often took the road near Red Fort — where the blast took place last week — for his everyday commute. But now he is scared. “Ab mujhe us raaste jaane se dar lagta hai (Now, I’m scared to take the same route),” he said.A heart patient since 2015, Faruq sped up his two-wheeler in panic when he heard the explosion that evening. He hit one of the poles and was swung in the air. “I get reminded of the horrific visuals of the hospital whenever I’m alone or I speak with people about it.” he said, adding that one of his ears has suffered permanent damage.Faruq is not the only one who is yet to recover from the trauma. Rahul Kaushik (21), who is currently pursuing an online animation course, can’t get sound sleep ever since he was caught in the blast. He too suffered permanent damage in his ear. His friend Ankush, who was accompanying him at the time of the incident, is still battling for his life at Lok Nayak Hospital.They had planned to go to Gauri Shankar Mandir in Chandni Chowk. “We were sitting on our parked bike when the blast took place. I was thrown in the air, and hair on my head, eyebrows and moustache got burnt… glass pieces were pierced on the forehead,” he said as he lay on his bed with right leg wrapped in white bandages. “I have not been able to get proper sleep… Even if I sleep for an hour, I hear blast sounds and black smoke surrounding me,” he added.He was discharged on Tuesday evening from GTB Hospital.Kaushik said he dragged Ankush from the site as fire was spreading fast at the time of the incident. “Nobody was helping us… people were making videos, until one rickshaw driver helped me,” he said as his mother and sister checked on him for giving medicines.He said he desperately wants to see his friend. “Bas yehi lag hai ki unhe ek baar dekh lun… mere saamne se leke gaye hai unhe. (I just want to see him once… They took him away in front of me).”His father Purshottam Kumar (45) said, “I don’t leave him alone in the room. When I saw him for the first time after the blast he was shivering.”Story continues below this adMeanwhile, in Shahdara’s 5th Pusta, Alam Azad (34), an e-rickshaw driver, walks with the support of a wooden stick. Three pieces of steel were pierced into his right side of the body, one hitting the leg bone, another in the thigh and one in the stomach.The stick taps the ground before his foot sets in. “I was carrying two passengers and was at the Metro gate number 1 when the blast took place. I was conscious and removed the steel pieces from the stomach and the thigh on my own, the other one… the doctors removed,” he said, adding that he drove the e-rickshaw to his nearby brother’s shop who took him to the doctor. “Mujhe 5 minute tak kuch dikha nahi, aisa laga ki gaadi gol gol ghoom rahi hai… (I could not see anything clearly for five minutes… everything was spinning), he added.Azad said that his family is in shock and wants him back in his hometown in Bihar. “My 5-year-old son died two months back in the village after drowning in a lake and now this has happened. My family is worried since there is no one to take care of me here, but the hospital took good care of me,” he said.Vishweshwar Rai (55) , an auto driver who was also injured in the blast, has already left for his hometown in Giridih, Jharkhand, still unsure when to return as one of his relatives also passed away recently. “I told him to go back to the village. He was getting anxious every moment, thinking about everything all over again,” said his friend Abhay.Story continues below this adSpeaking over a phone call, Rai said, “I don’t know when I will come back, maybe in another 15-20 days or more.”Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:delhi blastRed Fort