I hope no child and parent meet our fate, says Jiya’s father

The family is shattered after Jiya’s demise.

Jiya’s father Pankaj Juneja remembers clearly how his seven-year-old daughter would taunt him for scolding her for her three-and-a-half-year old sister Shriya’s fault. Jiya, though, used to playfully let go saying she does not mind that until her little sister turns five.

Jiya’s father Pankaj Juneja (centre) says has accepted his daughter’s destiny. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Pankaj, who works with IT firm Wipro, says he would have had fulfilled the promise if only Jiya lived to see that day.

The family is shattered after Jiya’s demise. A billion prayers and some of the best doctors in the city could not save her.

The Class 3 student of Ryan International School lost her battle with life at Medanta - the Medicity on Tuesday night. She was in a coma since May 9, when she suffered from Cerebral Edema - swelling of the brain - after a speeding car ran over her near her residence in Krishna Colony near Sector 7 area of old Gurgaon.

Though Pankaj has accepted the destiny of his daughter, he wishes no other child and parent face a similar fate.

“Though the schooI bus did not have an attendant, I have no one to blame. I just hope all schools ensure that no other student has to face what Jiya faced,” he says with teary eyes.

The family was informed about Jiya’s deteriorating health on Monday night. Worried, Pankaj, who is in his early forties, hurried with his wife to the hospital only to know that their daughter was no more.

“The brain swelling had affected other parts of her body,” Pankaj said.

Those close to the family said that her body was so swollen that it was difficult to recognize her. The body was brought home around 5:30 am and cremated around 9am.

“We tried our best to save her. She was being supervised by experienced medical practitioners. Alas, we failed,” Jiya’s grandfather Ganpati Rai Juneja, who lives with the family, said.

Usually, Jiya’s grandfather received her from the bus stop outside their house. But, on that day, her mother walked up to the main road and waited for Jiya’s school bus. Jiya was so excited to see her mother on the other side of the road that she rushed without even looking on either sides, a family member said.

“Maybe this is what was written in her fate. Otherwise the bus would have dropped her near the house. The driver didn’t know the road and there was no attendant to help her cross the road. She would have been playing with her younger sister in the verandah today,” Pankaj said.