Ghaziabad: SUV mows down six-year-old in Indirapuram; driver held

The victim, son of a construction worker, was returning home from the bhandara. Police said the vehicle swerved to avoid a pothole before striking the boy.

A six-year-old boy was run over and killed by an SUV while eating at a roadside bhandara (community feast) in Ghaziabad’s Indirapuram on Thursday afternoon, triggering outrage among locals who caught the driver – a 40-year-old executive working for a Noida-based IT firm – and handed him over to the police.

The white Tata Harrier SUV involved in the death of a six-year-old child in Indirapuram’s Shakti Khand 4. (Sakib Ali / HT PHOTO)

The accident occurred around 1.15pm in Shakti Khand, a busy residential pocket. The victim, son of a construction worker, was returning home from the bhandara. Police said the vehicle, a white Tata Harrier, swerved to avoid a pothole before striking the boy.

While the victim’s family alleged that the SUV was speeding, police said that prima facie, it does not appear to be the case. “However, we are investigating this aspect,” a senior officer aware of the case details said.

The child’s father, Congress Yadav, originally from Begusarai in Bihar, said, “My son was having food when the SUV ran him over. Locals stopped the car immediately. A woman and child were inside along with the driver, who was later taken away by police. We went to the station and filed a complaint demanding strict action.” Yadav said his son was a Class 1 student in a government school and that his younger daughter still lives in their village.

Passersby who witnessed the incident detained the driver until police arrived and arrested him from the spot.

Abhishek Srivastava, assistant commissioner of police (Indirapuram), identified the accused as Nitin Dixit, 40, an executive with a Noida-based IT firm and a resident of Sahibabad. He was booked under sections 281 (rash driving) and 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

“The SUV belongs to Dixit and he was behind the wheel at the time of the incident. He claimed he did not notice the boy until he came under the rear wheels. Prima facie, it appears the car was not speeding, but further investigation will confirm its speed,” Srivastava said, adding that the body has been sent for autopsy.

The family, joined by locals, staged a protest outside Indirapuram police station demanding accountability. Police said they were investigating all angles, including eyewitness accounts that alleged the vehicle was moving too fast for the narrow lane.