Elderly couple killed after car mounts pavement in Bilaspur

Victims were waiting for son when hit; police suspect driver lost control, FIR filed under rash driving and negligence provisions.

An elderly couple were killed after being hit by a speeding car near Sidhrawali bus stand in Bilaspur on Sunday night, police said on Monday.

Car veered onto pavement near bus stand; victims died at hospital, police issue notice to owner to identify driver. (Getty Images)

The deceased were identified by police as Maan Singh, 62, and Shakuntala Devi, 61, residents of Bhudka village in Pataudi. Police said the couple had returned from Panchkula and were waiting by the roadside for their son to pick them up when the accident took place.

Investigators said a speeding Tata Nexon hit the couple between 8.30 pm and 9 pm while they were standing near the pavement. A senior police officer, quoting an eyewitness, said the impact was severe. “The car had veered off course and had come onto the pavement where the duo was standing. After the crash, the driver abandoned the car and fled from the spot. Either he had fallen asleep or he was drunk, due to which he lost control and veered off course to end up hitting the two pedestrians,” he said.

Police said commuters alerted the control room, following which an emergency response vehicle reached the spot and shifted the injured to the civil hospital in Bhiwadi, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.

Based on their son’s complaint, an FIR was registered against an unidentified driver under Sections 106 (causing death by negligence) and 281 (rash driving) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Bilaspur police station on Monday.

Police said the bodies were handed over to the family after the autopsy. They added that a notice will be issued to the vehicle owner to establish the driver’s identity and make an arrest.