13-year-old, mother killed as speeding car hits auto on Delhi's Barapullah flyover, 3 injured

Police said they arrested the errant driver on Saturday morning and identified him as Mukul Tomar (21), a resident of Noida Sector 78 and third-year student in a private college.

13-year-old boy and his 38-year-old mother were killed and three others, including his father and brother, were injured after an allegedly speeding car hit the autorickshaw they were travelling in on Barapullah flyover (Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Setu) in south Delhi on Friday night, police said.

Damaged vehicles seen on the accident site after a speeding car allegedly crashed into an autorickshaw killing two people last night, at Barapullah, in New Delhi, India, on Saturday, March 19, 2022. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times)

The errant vehicle, a Tata Nexon car, also hit another taxi, a Swift Dzire car, but its occupants -- a driver and a woman passenger -- escaped unhurt. The driver of the taxi claimed that there were three people in the Nexon car and that they fled from the spot immediately after the accident, leaving the crashed car behind.

Police said they arrested the errant driver on Saturday morning and identified him as Mukul Tomar (21), a resident of Noida Sector 78 and third-year student in a private college.

“Tomar was going to Noida from Dwarka with his two friends in his Tata Nexon car. He was driving the car rashly. When Tomar reached the middle of the Barapullah flyover, he rammed an auto and then a Swift Dzire,” said deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Esha Pandey.

Tomar was booked for rash and negligent driving causing death and causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others, registered under Indian Penal Code sections 279, 304A and 337 at Sunlight Colony police station.

Police said the victims, Ayush Bhatt alias Karan (13) and his mother Geeta (38), were returning home with his father Janak Janardhan Bhatt (47) and brother Kartik (19), after celebrating Holi at their relative’s home in Malviya Nagar, when the accident took place around 9pm.

Pappu Kumar Chaudhary, whose taxi was damaged in the accident, said, “I was taking the passenger to Anand Vihar from Aerocity when the vehicle first hit the auto and then crashed into my cab. My cab spun on the road for two-three times. A woman passenger in my cab’s rear seat was safe but at least five people were in the auto and one of them, a boy, died on the spot. A woman passenger of the auto was also unconscious when she was taken to the hospital. The driver of the SUV and the other two occupants fled after the accident.”

Police said the victims, Ayush Bhatt alias Karan (13) and his mother Geeta (38), were returning home with his father Janak Janardhan Bhatt (47) and brother Kartik (19), after celebrating Holi at their relative’s home in Malviya Nagar, when the accident took place around 9pm. The four, along with autorickshaw driver Waqar Alam (25), were rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where Geeta and Ayush succumbed to injuries during treatment.

The family originally hails from Almora district in Uttarakhand but have been living in Delhi for over two decades. Janak worked in a printing and publishing house while his wife was a homemaker. Kartik, a Class 12 student preparing for engineering entrance exams, has suffered injuries to his spinal cord and is undergoing treatment at the hospital. Janardhan was discharged after minor treatment on Saturday, said his brother Mahesh Bhatt.

“My brother’s family visits us for Holi and other festivals. They used to stay with us for a few days after Holi. But this time, my brother decided to return as Kartik was preparing for engineering exams and his online coaching classes were to resume from Saturday... Had they given me any other reason, I would have held them back at my home,” said Mahesh.

“We have been told that Ayush was thrown out of the auto due to the impact of the crash and his head hit the concrete railing...The driver should get strict punishment,” said Sunil, another relative.