New Delhi, November 2: MOURNING replaced wedding and Diwali celebrations at Jai Prakash’s house in Manglapuri. A bright Shubh Deepawali sign hangs in his newly opened shop near his house. His son’s wedding was scheduled for November 11 and his daughter’s wedding was to be held on 20th.

The Sarojini Nagar market blast killed his wife Kamal (45) and daughter Aarti (17). ‘‘They were going to Humayunpur to exchange sweets with my sister’s family and decided to do some diwali and wedding shopping at Sarojini Nagar on their way,” said Jai Prakash.

“At about 7 pm, a neighbour told me about the bomb blast at Sarojini Nagar Market. I immediately rushed to the market but couldn’t find them. Later, I went to Safdarjung and AIIMS but we were not allowed in. All night, I searched everywhere,’’ he said.

‘‘On Sunday morning, we found them in the Safdarjung mortuary among atleast 40 bodies- all badly mutilated. My wife’s body was all charred, I recognised her from the bangles on her hand. Kamal was in the midst of preparations for the weddings and Diwali...now we don’t even know if we will have his wedding,’’ he added. His 15-year-old daughter Ritu stands nearby, her tears all dried up.