A WhatsApp photograph of a head flashed on Vijay Kumar's phone screen at 3 am Saturday, 20 October, confirming his worst fears. His 18-year-old son Manish was one of the revellers mowed down by a train while they were watching Ravana's effigy burn the evening before.

His younger son, Ashish, returned safely from the festivities, said Kumar, but the frantic search for Manish ended with that 'ping' on his phone. He has since been roaming from hospital to hospital looking for the remains of his elder son.

It was a night of unspeakable horrors, said the father, aware that his son was decapitated when the train hurtled through the tracks, killing 61 people and injuring more than 70. A leg was found and one hand, but they are not Manish's.