NEW DELHI: “Papa, bahut enjoy karke aaye hain, hum aadhe ghante mein ghar pahunch jayenge (Papa, have enjoyed a lot. We will reach home in half an hour),” were the last words of 14-year-old Abhav Bhatia during a two-minute phone call with his father while returning from Monday’s IPL match with his cousin, Yagya (20). A truck hit them while Abhav, who was riding pillion on Yagya’s motorcycle, was still on the call.Speaking to TOI on Tuesday, Abhav’s father, Sumit Bhatia, said it was just before 10.27 pm when he dialled his son. He insisted Abhav stay on the line. Everything seemed normal for a while. Then, Sumit heard a loud bang over the phone.In an instant, he knew something terrible had happened to the cousins. Panicking, he kept hollering on the phone, but there was no response. After a few minutes, an unknown person took the call and informed him about the accident. The family rushed to the spot at central Delhi’s Ashoka Road.At the mortuary of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on Tuesday, Sumit and Yagya’s father broke down as they struggled to come to terms with the loss of their only sons. Friends and relatives stood helplessly as the enormity of the tragedy started sinking in.
The Bhatias, who have been living in west Delhi’s Ashok Nagar for several decades and run a dry fruit business, were preparing for Abhav’s birthday on April 30. He had just completed Class 9 at Hansraj School. Planning and decoration for the party were on; now the family has to live with the unbearable loss.The cousins were inseparable, bound not only by family ties but also by their shared love for cricket. Yagya, a BSc student at a DU college and a passionate enthusiast of the game, represents his college team and even bowled at the nets for IPL players. His social media profile reflects this love: His bio reads “cricket enthusiast” and “join the journey.”Yagya’s last post, uploaded on April 26, has a short clip featuring the arrival of an IPL team in Delhi. Earlier posts show him taking wickets, playing in games, posing with professional cricketers and strumming the guitar during lighter moments. “He was passionate and confident about making a future in cricket and was under the guidance of a prominent coach,” said Ravi, a relative of the Bhatias.
