By Madhulika Sonkar

New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Till the crack of the dawn Thursday, a slight movement of Mridul Bakshi's eyes reflected the sheer determination to live. But soon, around 5.10 a.m., the 34-year-old city resident's fight ended. Mridul's became the 14th life claimed by the Delhi High Court blast.

"His intestines had ruptured, his brain was splattered... still he dragged himself to the ambulance," distraught brother Vinod Bakshi said as he tried to console other relatives at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital here.

In another corner of the waiting room, Mridul's widow Rajni can hear relatives talk about taking the body home but remains speechless.

"They had been blessed with a child after six years of marriage," Vinod noted. "Mridul's life was all about his son. Rajni has been strong throughout, but we do not know what might be going on in her mind now."

Mridul, who worked for a software firm, had gone to the high court that fateful Sep 7 morning with his brother's son for a hearing when the blast took place at Gate 5 of the court complex.

"Doctors had operated on him four times -- three times on his brain and once on his belly. We were hopeful till the last minute because of his determination, even though he was on ventilator," Vinod said.

The devasted family from Uttam Nagar in west Delhi has got compensation, but as Rajni had earlier said, "It is not enough."

"I have a five-month-old baby. If Mridul is not able to work, how will we sustain? The compensation is not enough. The government should think of something permanent. Or they should just give up and accept their mistakes."

Doctors said Mridul's body was embedded with shrapnels and he had fractured both legs and arms. He also suffered a serious head injury.

"He was on life support system," a senior doctor from the RML Hospital said. "Bakshi had a clot in the brain and his condition was critical."