Injured in the chest, protesting youth made a dash for the ambulance

22-year-old aspirant kept under close medical observation after surgery

In the midst of the rioting at Secunderabad railway station on Friday, 22-year-old L. Vinay ran towards an ambulance parked nearby, tightly cupping his chest. A part of his olive-green shirt was soaked in blood, as a viral video clip shows. The clip was shot by a person inside the ambulance and has Vinay narrating about why was he protesting and ‘fired’ at.

A few minutes after getting injured, Vinay rang up his brother, Naveen, who was having lunch. “He said he had been hit by a bullet and asked me to come to the hospital. I dropped everything and ran,” says Mr Naveen, recalling the course of events after his brother was injured.

Vinay is undergoing treatment at Gandhi Hospital. Superintendent of the health facility, M. Raja Rao has said no bullet was found in the bodies of any of the protesters admitted at the hospital, but pellets were found in some of them.

Naveen has been stationed at the hospital since Friday. While taking care of his brother, he does not miss out of attending any phone calls as help could come from any corner. He has been flooded with calls enquiring about Vinay’s health condition. The video which went viral has shook up his family and friends. His parents reached the hospital on Saturday.

Doctors operated on Vinay and have kept him under close medical observation. The family is on the tenterhooks. “My brother has asked me not to worry and said his health condition is good,” says Mr Naveen, adding that the biggest relief is that there is no damage to Vinay’s heart.

The brothers reside in Kukatpally here. The family hails from Mahbubnagar district. Vinay started appearing for exams last year to bag an army job. His family said he had cleared the medical test in the first attempt.

Another youth who got injured near his chest was Jagannath from Mantralayam in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. He was, however, not part of the protesting mob, says Ranga, his relative: “He had gone to the station to see off a family member and got injured in the violence.”