In another six weeks, Govind Pratap Kurmi (28) would have been happily married. The date was yet to be finalised but the arrangements had started. He had asked his employer to hold his salary for two months for a consolidated payment which he could use for the wedding expenses. However, an accident, in which he was among the four killed on Wednesday night, shattered those plans, said his family.
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His brother-in-law Deen Dayal Kurmi said, “He had been saving for the wedding that was scheduled for next month. This is very unfortunate.”
Govind had been working at Chacha’s Take Away restaurant since December 2021. He stayed in a rented room in Chakkarpur village. Youngest among three siblings, he had come to Gurgaon from a village in Damoh district in Madhya Pradesh to make a living. He was paid Rs 14,000 a month as a delivery boy at the restaurant.
“He was supposed to get married last year. But, the marriage was delayed due to the onset of the second wave of Covid,” said Deen Dayal.
Outside the DLF Phase I police station, the victims’ families were united in grief as they repeatedly broke down while police recorded their statements.
Birender Mandal said his younger brother Jitendra, who was among the victims, used to send money to his wife in Sitamarhi, Bihar, every month for their sons’ education. “He was a cook, and wanted his two sons to have access to quality education and a bright future. He had not been paid for several months but he never complained. During the pandemic, when work was hard to come by, he had to borrow money from friends. Wo nahi chaahta thaa ki uske bachhe iss line mein aayen (He did not want his children to follow his path). Who will take care of his wife and children now?” he asked.
He said his brother had come to Gurgaon in 2004 and had worked as a cook at several places. “He wanted to build a pucca house in his village and open a dhaba. All their dreams are now in limbo,” he added.
Rajnish Mandal (21), nephew of Jitendra, had started working as a helper at the same restaurant a few months ago.
“Jitendra had got him this job. They stayed in a rented room in Chakkarpur village. He was paid only Rs 7,000 a month for a 13-hour job. He was so young. It is tragic that all these lives were snuffed out. We hope that the families of the victims get compensation and that the accused gets the harshest punishment,” said Rajnish’s elder brother, Manish Kumar.