Jhansi: Yakoob Mansuri, a young food vendor from Hamirpur, became a hero on Friday night, but his own twin daughters never got to know him as one. For a week, Yakoob and his wife, Nazma, had been camping outside the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, where their newborn twin girls had been admitted.
The couple took turns to watch over their babies, but when a fire broke out that night, Yakoob rushed into the unit and broke the window to save as many infants as possible. His twin girls were not among those rescued. Their bodies were found the next Saturday and the grieving parents sat outside the hospital in stunned silence, unable to comprehend their loss, Times of India reported.
Woman shares heart-wrenching account
Sanjana Kumari, who had just given birth to her first child, too faced a devastating loss. “My baby was burnt alive in front of me and I could not do anything,” she said, her voice trembling with grief. “The hospital’s negligence destroyed my dreams. I couldn’t even hold my child.”
Santoshi Devi from Jalaun had brought her newborn to the hospital due to complications during delivery. When the fire broke out, her baby was lost in the chaos that happened. “I heard the screams, but my baby was gone,” she said, her voice filled with pain.
‘Sold everything to save him’
Sonu and Sanjana, from Lalitpur, had been caring for their premature son, who was undergoing treatment for respiratory issues. They were advised not to feed him and decided to rest briefly. By the time they returned, the fire had devastated the NICU. “We tried everything, but in the end, he was taken from us,” Sanjana said in a sad manner. “We sold everything, took loans, just to give him a fighting chance.”
Niranjan Maharaj, also from Lalitpur, identified his grandchild’s body by the name tag. “He was burnt to death in the fire,” he said and accused the hospital staff of failing to act swiftly enough during the crisis.
