Pharmacy student mows down toddler with speeding Thar in Manesar

The incident occurred between 10am and 10.15am at the primary health centre in Bhangrola in Manesar, where several children, including the victim, were playing.

A year-old child was crushed to death by a speeding Mahindra Thar allegedly driven by a 22-year-old trainee pharmacist inside the premises of a government-run health centre in Manesar on Thursday morning, police said.

Khatri added that the accused, a resident of Shikohpur, about 12 km from the spot, had joined the centre as a trainee pharmacist only recently.

The accused identified as Gaurav, (single name), a resident of Shikohpur village in Manesar, was arrested later in the evening. Gaurav had a diploma in pharmacy.

The incident occurred between 10am and 10.15am at the primary health centre in Bhangrola in Manesar, where several children, including the victim, were playing.

The driver, who had recently joined the centre as a trainee pharmacist, arrived in a black Thar with a fancy registration number, according to investigators privy to the case details. Police said that prima facie it appears that the car was trying to negotiate a sharp turn inside the premises at a considerable speed when the vehicle struck the child.

The victim, identified as Avish Kumar, lived with his parents Amrendra Kumar and Puja Devi in a rented house opposite the health centre. The family, originally from Paliganj in Bihar’s Patna, had celebrated Avish’s first birthday just two weeks ago on July 28.

Inspector Virender Khatri, station house officer of Kherki Daula police station, said the toddler was playing near the turn when the Thar crushed him.

“The toddler was playing within the complex and the driver failed to spot him. The child probably came near the intersection when the car, which was being driven at breakneck speed, ran over him resulting in his instant death. The suspect fled immediately, leaving the vehicle behind, which we later seized,” he said.

Khatri added that the accused, a resident of Shikohpur, about 12 km from the spot, had joined the centre as a trainee pharmacist only recently.

“With the help of the car registration number, we reached upto Gaurav. His father had taken the Thar for use from a friend but instead he started driving it to reach the centre,” he said.

The child’s father, Amrendra Kumar, a worker in a manufacturing firm in Bhangrola, told HT that his wife was at home when the incident happened. “I was on duty at the time. As soon as my son was hit, people raised an alarm. My wife told me she rushed out to health centre, and found Avish lying in a pool of blood,” he said.

“My neighbours informed me, and I rushed back within 10 minutes. Eyewitnesses said the driver was speeding recklessly. After running over my son, he locked the vehicle and fled without even trying to help,” Kumar added.

A local resident alerted the police control room, following which an ambulance rushed the toddler to the civil hospital in Sector 10. Doctors there declared him dead on arrival.

Based on a complaint filed by the boy’s father, police registered a case against the driver under sections 106 (causing death by negligence) and 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Kherki Daula police station.

The body was handed over to the family after an autopsy.