‘Sumit had passion for donating blood… in three years, donated blood for over two dozen times’

This is how people knew 22-year-old Sumit Rawat, a BTech engineering student whose life was snuffed out in drunken driving road accident

AN AVID blood donor, an intelligent student and a person who was always eager to help ailing people. This is how people knew 22-year-old Sumit Rawat, a BTech engineering student whose life was snuffed out in drunken driving road accident caused by a tipsy driver, Gurinder Singh, near the light point of Sector 49/48 on February 1. The alcohol in the body of Gurinder, a conductor with Punjab Roadways, was found 90mg whereas the prescribed limit is of 30mg. Sarveshanand Rawat, father of the victim, said, “Sumit had a passion for donating blood. In the last around three years, he had donated blood for more than two dozen times. My wife and I used to receive phone calls of Sumit from hospitals at late night informing us that he was with some needy patients and would come back home late. Even last week, he made all of us — my wife, my elder daughter and me — to donate blood at a camp which was held in our locality at Housing Board Colony in Sector 19, Panchkula.”

Watch What Else Is Making News?

Sarveshanand along with Sumit’s friends came to the mortuary of Government Medical College & Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, for receiving the body of his son after a post-mortem examination on Thursday. Rahul Singh Negi, a school friend of the victim, said, “Sumit was always keen to help the needy and had a passion for the engineering. After completing his polytechnic diploma, he enrolled himself in the mechanical engineering. We lost a good human being.”

Sumit, who had purchased a two-wheeler three months ago, was crushed to death by a speeding Swift being driven by tipsy driver, Gurinder Singh, at the light point of Sector 49/48. Gurinder, who was returning after attending a cocktail party, had dragged the victim for more than 50 metres.

Sub-Inspector Krishan Dev Singh, the probe officer, said, “The spot inspection revealed that tipsy Gurinder had dragged the victim for more than 50 metres. So we slapped charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against him. We have also collected blood and urine samples of the accused and will send these to CFSL, Sector 36.”
A case was registered at Sector 49 police station. Gurinder was sent to judicial custody in Model Burial Jail on Thursday.

Sumit was the second victim who lost life in a road accident caused by a tipsy driver in the last one month in Chandigarh. On January 9, Ajay Kumar, a Reliance Jio employee, was killed in a road accident caused by a tipsy driver, Harwinder Singh Kahlon, in Sector 35.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram