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NAVI MUMBAI: The Vashi based interior decorator, Deepak Patel (36), considers himself ’twice lucky’ after he escaped death by a whisker at Dadar on Wednesday.

Exactly five years ago, Patel had a narrow escape at Borivili station during the July 11, 2006, train blasts. Since then he had completely stopped travelling by trains.

"But, now after my second brush with a bomb blast on Wednesday while driving my Maruti Esteem car in Dadar, I really wonder who is really safe in the city," said Patel, a little shaken but thankful to god and his stars.

Early on Thursday morning Patel visited a local Sai Baba temple at Vashi to offer his deepest gratitude to the lord.

Patel, who was going to Navi Mumbai along with two of his office employees, recalled that his car was just 3 metres away from the Dadar bus-stop where the explosion occurred at around 7 pm.

"Our car was closest to the bus-stop. Immediately after the blast, the rear glass window had shattered while the front windscreen also cracked due to the impact. All three of us immediately ran out of the vehicle," said Patel, who received innumerable calls from friends and relatives after his damaged car was repeatedly shown on TV news channels.

Fortunately, Patel and his two associates escaped without any injuries as the car’s exterior had taken the brunt of the blast. As soon as the police arrived at the spot, Patel informed the officials about his damaged car. They were then taken to Shivaji Park police station for questioning.

"We were there at the police station till 2 am, but the cops were very polite and cordial as they noted down our details," said Patel, who lives with his wife and son at Sector 17, Vashi.

His 85-year-old grandmother, who lives in Ghatkopar, was told about this incident only today as they did not want her sleep pattern to be disrupted on Wednesday night.

When asked if he feels let down by the authorities, as they are not able to stop such terror attacks from taking place in Mumbai, he said that it certainly does feel that way.

"There has to be a strict anti-terror policy in place so that such serial blasts and attacks do not occur. Just look at New York, after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, there has not been a single incident of this nature in that city," he elaborated.

When asked about his first terror experience in July 2006, Patel remembered: "In those days I used to travel by trains on professional assignments. I vividly remember getting off a local train at Borivili station. The minute I stepped out of the platform, there was this tremendous blast in a local standing at the station."

Patel had stopped using trains since then, and started driving his own car, which is now badly damaged and lying in the custody of Mumbai police.