Gurugram: 2-yr-old girl mowed down by car while playing outside home

Police registered a case under BNS sections 106 and 281; the driver claimed he could not see the children because of darkness

A two-year-old girl playing outside her home with her elder sister in Gurugram’s Sector 6 was mowed down by a speeding car on Monday night, police said on Tuesday. The driver, who lives in the same locality, was arrested, officials said.

The 30-year-old driver was arrested and his Volkswagen Taigun seized after CCTV captured the fatal accident in Sector 6. (HT)

The victim, Adrija Tiwari, was rushed to a private hospital in Palam Vihar, where doctors declared her dead. Her four-year-old sister escaped with bruises, police said.

The accident took place around 9.02pm when the sisters were playing on the road in front of their house, while their mother, Puja Dubey, was speaking to another woman from the neighbourhood barely a foot away from the children. Police said the car approached them and ran over the younger girl while taking a right turn. The street was well illuminated, officers said.

CCTV footage from multiple angles showed the sisters playing on the road before the car approached and struck Adrija. The footage then showed the mother rushing to her daughter and picking her up, police said.

“He knew there were children at the turning, but even then he was speeding when he crossed the spot for the second time,” Tiwari told HT.

Tiwari, an engineer with a US-based firm that has an office in the city, said the car driver came out and tried to help immediately after the accident. “However, it was too late, as his daughter died within a minute,” he told police.

Investigators suspect the driver may have been momentarily distracted while negotiating the right turn, possibly looking elsewhere or using his phone, causing him to miss the children on the road, sources said.

Sandeep Turan, public relations officer of the Gurugram police, said an FIR was registered under sections 106 (causing death by negligence) and 281 (rash driving) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Sector-5 police station on Tuesday.

“The 30-year-old suspect was arrested on Tuesday, and the Volkswagen Taigun that he was driving was also seized. He works in a private firm,” he said.

Turan said the suspect claimed darkness prevented him from seeing the children. “But CCTV footage showed the incident clearly. Further investigation was underway,” he said.

Police said the driver was not found drunk or intoxicated when examined after the accident.

The victim’s body was handed over to the family after an autopsy on Tuesday, police said.

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