Kanpur: The rakhis tied on Pawan Singh’s wrist during Raksha Bandhan were still fresh in his sisters’ memories when his body returned home. The 17-year-old, the only brother among four sisters, had celebrated Raksha Bandhan and Janmashtami with his family in Auraiya before leaving for Delhi on Saturday. On Monday night, he returned home in a coffin, one of the six students who lost their lives when a five-storey hostel building in Delhi’s Satya Niketan collapsed.Pawan was the only son of retired homeopathy pharmacist Vishambhar Singh. His remains arrived home on Monday night, leaving his four sisters devastated. His father was engulfed in sorrow, while his mother, Meera Devi, has not yet been told about her son’s death.Witnessing the family’s anguish, relatives and neighbours present at the house were also brought to tears.His sister Priyanshi, who lives in Delhi, rushed to the hostel after hearing about the collapse and searched extensively for him. She eventually located his body at the AIIMS mortuary. Later that night, the family received the heartbreaking news of his death.Pawan had maintained a routine of speaking to his mother over video calls every morning and evening. Even after arriving in Delhi on Saturday, he spoke to her over a video call. They also spoke on Sunday morning, but when he did not call that evening, his mother grew anxious. Accustomed to speaking to her son every day, his silence raised the alarm. The family subsequently learnt about the hostel disaster.On Monday morning, his father travelled to Delhi with his daughter. After the postmortem examination, they returned home with Pawan’s body late that night.Pawan had completed his intermediate education at Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter College, Dibiyapur. He was admitted to Delhi University’s BSc Computer Science programme on July 20 and had been studying in Delhi for barely two months. Priyanshi had enrolled at Delhi University last year and lives in a girls’ hostel there.
