E-Paper
2 minors among 3 run over by car in Delhi’s Mundka
The car dragged the two boys for a brief distance and they died on the spot while the 22-year-old meat seller succumbed to his injuries at a hospital, A Koan, deputy commissioner of police (outer district), said.
A car that was allegedly speeding in outer Delhi’s Mundka on Wednesday evening ran over three people—two 10-year-old boys playing on the street and a meat seller who tried to come to their rescue—the police said.
The car dragged the two boys for a brief distance and they died on the spot while the 22-year-old meat seller succumbed to his injuries at a hospital, A Koan, deputy commissioner of police (outer district), said.
The driver, 43-year-old Udayraj (identified by his first name only), abandoned the car and fled the spot, but the police apprehended him later. The public thrashed his friend, Rajeev (identified by his first name only), who was in the car, before the police could rescue him. “Rajeev, who works at a footwear manufacturing unit, was drunk. The car driver, however, was sober,” a police officer said.
The family members of one of the dead boys are daily wage labourers. “His parents are so poor that they don’t have money to even buy food, let alone arrange an ambulance or any other vehicle to take his body to the burial ground. The local police took his body for burial in their emergency response vehicle (ERV) and pooled in money to provide the family with ration to help them for a few weeks,” DCP Koan said.
The other boy lived with his family in the Lekhram Park neighbourhood of Mundka, the same area where his friend lived.
“Around 3.30pm on Wednesday, the two boys were playing on the street in Murga Market near their home when a speeding Maruti Celerio car ran over the boys. A meat seller, Mahesh, who was near his shop at that time ran to save the boys, but he also ended up getting mowed down by the car,” another investigator said.
The police said the car juddered to a stop and Udayraj abandoned his vehicle and friend to escape from the scene. He left an allegedly inebriated Rajeev behind.
The three victims, meanwhile, were rushed to a hospital, but they couldn’t be saved.
At Rajeev’s instance, the police were able to arrest Udayraj. “The duo had driven into Delhi from Bahadurgarh via an offbeat road. They were found to have flouted lockdown rules and have been booked under the Indian Penal Code Section 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by a government servant),” the officer said.
Udayraj, meanwhile, has additionally been booked for causing death due to negligence and rash driving, the DCP said. He runs a factory and lives in the nearby Geetanjali Enclave.
While the families of one of the boys and Mahesh were able to cremate them, the second boy’s family had to approach the police for help. “Apart from providing them with our ERV to take his body to the burial ground, the local police also pooled in ₹7,000 for their ration. We have also promised to pay their rent in the coming months,” Surendra Sandhu, station house officer of Mundka police station, said.
