Parents, neighbours demand justice for 4-year-old killed by Mercedes car
Say the death of Devika and its immediate fallout—the driver of the vehicle getting bail—bear proof that no one cares about the poor
A day after the driver of the Mercedes ML 350, which crushed a four-year-old girl to death on Sunday, was released on bail, aggrieved parents demanded justice for their daughter.
Their daughter Devika was playing by the road next to the slums near Prem Nagar in Sector 12 when she came under the wheels of the speeding Merc. She died from an excessive loss of blood.
Her father Vicky (27), who is still struggling to come to terms with his loss, said that the death of his daughter and its immediate fallout bear proof that no one cares about the poor in this country.
“A speeding car killed my daughter and the accused driver got bail. The car’s owners are yet to be traced. Such indifference by the authorities will only embolden and encourage the rich and mighty to get away with crimes and not care for people who live in slums,” the father said.
The mood was sombre as Hindustan Times paid a visit to the slum where the minor’s parents live, on Tuesday. Jyoti, the victim’s mother, is still in shock and wails remembering her youngest child. She has two more daughters — Sarika (6) and Ishika (5).
“It seems we are destined to die under the wheels of big cars. Politicians visit us to beg for votes, but never care to show up when we need them most. They are nowhere to be seen when we need them to fight for our causes. The incident is a brutal reminder that lives in slums are cheap and the authorities will continue to look away even if more kids meet Deepika’s fate ,” said Lakshmi, a neighbour, who was at the spot when little Devika was crushed to death.
Locals said that since the incident they are scared to let their children play on the streets. “No one from the administration cared to visit us. We demand exemplary punishment for the accused driver,” Vinod Kumar, a resident, said
A case has been filed under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code at the Sector 14 police station.
On May 9, 2017, a seven-year-old girl student of Ryan International School, Sector 40, was hit by a car after her school bus dropped her off on the wrong side of the road. She died at a city hospital on May 19. The police have not been able to trace the car’s owner so far.
Last November, eight-year-old Ankit, a resident of Rajokri in Delhi, died in a hit-and-run incident near Ambience mall where he had come to collect leftover food from a wedding reception.
