Amroha in Uttar Pradesh is mourning the loss of Ashok Kumar, one of the nine people who died in the car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday evening. Ashok was the only earning member in his family of eight.

Ashok worked as a conductor with the Delhi Transport Corporation. He usually worked on a cluster bus route that passed through Old Delhi.

His cousin Pappu came to know about his death after seeing his name in the list of victims announced by the authorities. Speaking to NDTV outside LNJP Hospital, he said, "I read his name in the list and said, 'He is my cousin.' I called around to confirm. He also had a bike, which is missing right now."

Pappu added that Ashok may have been returning from work at the time. "He must be either returning from work or going somewhere. He used to take this route," he said.

Ashok lived with his wife and four children, three daughters and one son, in Jagatpur, around 15 km from where the blast took place.

His mother, Somwati, lives in Amroha with her elder son, Subhash, who is often unwell. Because of this, Ashok took care of nearly all family needs. To support everyone, he worked two jobs, as a conductor during the day and a security guard at night.

Scenes outside LNJP Hospital showed many families searching for their loved ones. Among them was an elderly man looking for his relative, Lokesh Kumar Gupta.

He said that Ashok was supposed to pick up Lokesh at the Chandni Chowk metro station. "Lokesh Kumar Gupta is my relative. We both left Sir Ganga Ram Hospital together in the evening. Lokesh boarded the metro to Chandni Chowk, where Ashok was meant to meet him," he said.

While Ashok was confirmed dead in the blast, Lokesh is still missing.

Another victim was 34-year-old Amar Kataria, a pharmaceutical businessman from Sriniwaspuri. He had closed his pharmacy at Bhagirath Palace and was on his way home when the explosion occurred. His father was seen crying outside the hospital.

The blast happened at 6:52 pm when a slow-moving Hyundai i20 car exploded near Red Fort Metro Station Gate No. 1. The car had a Haryana number plate. Nine people were killed and 20 others were injured. Several vehicles nearby were also damaged.

Police have invoked the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) after initial investigations suggested possible terror links.

This explosion came on the same day that a large quantity of explosives, about 2,900 kg, was recovered from Faridabad, nearly 50 km from Delhi.