Call-centre cab kills a motorist

A speeding call-centre cab hit a motorcyclist in east Delhi's Bhajanpura, killing the pillion passenger and critically injuring the bike's driver, reports Ravi Bajpai.

A speeding call-centre cab hit a motorcyclist in east Delhi's Bhajanpura on late Thursday night, killing the pillion passenger and critically injuring the bike's driver, police said.

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The accident comes close on the heels of two mishaps last month where call-centre cabs killed a student and injured 14 schoolchildren in Rohini and Kalyanpuri.

In the latest incident, Harish (20) and Monu (21) were on their way home on a motorcycle when the accident took place near a police picket in Yamuna Vihar, Block C, police said. The Tavera car collided with the victims' motorcycle head-on.

"Both the victims were rushed to Guru Tegh Bahadur hospital, where Harish was declared brought dead. The bike's driver, Monu was in a critical condition till late Friday evening," said an officer.

Harish used to work in a garment factory and Monu was engaged in an air-conditioner repair shop, police said. The Tavera car was engaged in a pickup facility for a Gurgaon call-centre and an Okhla-based private company, said a police officer.

The driver, Visharat Hussain (25), was going to Maujpur after dropping off some passengers in Bhajanpura and was arrested for causing death due to negligence, said the officer.

"A temporary Kanawaria camp had been setup on one of the carriageways and vehicles going both ways were diverted to a single lane. Bike's driver Monu was drunk," said the officer.

Call-centre cabs were involved in accidents last month too. In Rohini, a driver driving on the wrong side rammed into a van carrying schoolchildren. Five-year-old Vaibhav Kumar died of head injuries, while four others were injured.

The same day, another call-centre cab hit six girls crossing the road in Kalyanpuri. Four of them suffered multiple fractures. In November last year, two children of a family were killed when a call-centre cab rammed into their school van in northwest Delhi's Keshavpuram.