NAGPUR NEWS:-Missed coffee at German Bakery saves city lawyer

NAGPUR: People generally cherish memorable moments over coffee. But city-based lawyer Aakash Gupta will treasure missing a coffee on Saturday.

After all, it's something that probably saved his life.

Gupta walked into Pune's German Bakery on Saturday evening but had to leave as the hep joint was full. Barely 10 minutes later, a powerful bomb ripped through the place, killing nine people. A shell-shocked Gupta, who was in Pune for work, could only mumble his gratefulness to god that he did not meet the same fate of many unlucky ones.

"I had my breakfast at the same place and spent almost an hour-and-a-half on Saturday morning. On the previous day too, I visited the place twice," a shaken Gupta, 29, said. He again went to the popular eatery on Saturday evening for a snack. "But the place was choc-a-bloc. Finding a place seemed almost impossible. Not wanting to wait, I walked out and hailed a cab to head to another coffee place," said Gupta. According to him, the bomb had exploded just before 7 pm and not at 7.30 pm which media was projecting.

Even as Gupta was on his way to another place, he got a call from panicked friends who were concerned about his safety. "I rushed back to a horrifying sight. There was a lot of chaos. Blood and debris everywhere. My father had just called me then for discussing something. He was shocked to hear what had happened too. He told me to return soon and safely," said Gupta. "It was probably divine intervention and the blessings of my parents Avinash and Lata that saved me," he added.

The young lawyer was putting up at a hotel that is a stone's throw away from ground zero. He claimed that some of the debris landed on the hotel premises and some cars were also slightly damaged. "The cops and ambulances reached the spot soon. It was a scary sight and I did not want to stay there for too long," said Gupta, adding that he rushed to the rooftop of his hotel to see the happenings from a safe distance, even as he answered calls from relatives and friends and told them about his lucky escape.

"I have never been into such a disastrous mess," said Gupta, who returned to the city on Sunday. "I pray it never happens again."