Protest erupts at Gandhi Hospital after recovery of boat fire victim’s body from Hussain Sagar

Hyderabad: After the body of 21-year-old B-Tech student Ajay was recovered on Tuesday, January 28, following nearly 45 hours of search efforts after a boat fire on Hussain Sagar, his family, and friends staged a protest at Gandhi Hospital on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.

They demanded justice and threatened to withhold their signatures on the postmortem documents until Union Minister Kishan Reddy addressed their concerns.

Ajay had been aboard a boat with friends on the night of January 26 when a fire broke out following a firecracker explosion during the ‘Bharat Mata Maha Aarti’ program at People’s Plaza, Necklace Road. While his friends managed to escape, Ajay was not found and was reported missing.

Rescue teams, including expert swimmers from the Disaster Response Force, conducted an extensive search, and his body was eventually located in the lake, raising the death toll from the incident to two.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ganapathi, a 22-year-old firecracker operator from East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, succumbed to injuries sustained in the explosion. He had suffered 80% burns and had been receiving treatment at Yashoda Hospital in Secunderabad.

Ajay’s mother last spoke to him around 8:30 p.m. on January 26, when he informed her he was with friends at Tank Bund and would return home after midnight. By 11:00 p.m., when she tried calling him again, his phone was off.

At 2:00 a.m., Ajay’s friends contacted the family, reporting him as missing. After checking local hospitals without finding him, the family contacted the police. Authorities suspected that Ajay may have jumped into the lake during the fire.

The explosion occurred during a fireworks display at the conclusion of the ‘Bharat Mata Maha Aarti’ program, organized by the Bharat Mata Foundation.

Two boats, operated by the Telangana Tourism Department, were carrying firecrackers. One firecracker went off course, igniting the fireworks and causing extensive damage to the boat and jetty.

An FIR regarding the fire has been filed at the Secretariat Police Station. The incident took place between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m., when a firecracker struck one of the boats, injuring several people onboard, including firecracker operators and boat driver Dubasi Sunil.

Emergency responders quickly arrived on the scene to assist in rescue operations. The event concluded before the fireworks began and was attended by several dignitaries, including Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma and Union Minister Kishan Reddy.