From village in Bihar to engineering in Noida, 20-yr-old Sweety’s journey interrupted by a hit-and-run

Since then, people both familiar and unfamiliar are joining hands to pay for the medical expenses that her parents, both farmers from Bihar, cannot afford.

On Friday, in a waiting room below the intensive care unit in Greater Noida’s Kailash Hospital, Sweety’s parents, Shivnandan Pal and Lalmani Devi, await news of their daughter. They arrived here four days ago, from their village of Sarthua near Patna.

The parents of the “intelligent, independent young woman”, whom they hoped would surpass them in every way, have never come to Noida before — though their only child is now in her final-year of B.Tech at the Greater Noida Institute of Technology. “We do farming on rented land; we do not have a strong economic background. We needed to take a loan for her to study here. But Sweety handled all the formalities and got the loan by herself,” Shivnandan said.

This was not the way they anticipated their first visit to meet their daughter. “We received a call from one of her friends on the night of the accident. We knew she was in hospital, and that her condition was bad. We borrowed a two-wheeler to go part of the way, then got on an auto till Patna to get a train to Delhi. We eventually arrived on the morning of January 2. She had just had an operation the previous day for a head injury when we arrived. I couldn’t say anything when I saw her; her condition was so terrible. At that point, the doctors had told us that nothing could be guaranteed; now they have told us that she is slowly improving,” her father said.

Her mother recalled having a short conversation with Sweety the last time they spoke over the phone. Her daughter had a busy schedule, and her parents were mindful not to take up too much of her time. “I had talked to her just a couple of hours before the accident. About how she was doing and if anything new had happened. She told me everything was alright. It was a routine conversation, I didn’t want to bother her with too many questions.”

These conversations were the only link they had to her in a distant city – she had last visited them a little over a year ago. Since then, her parents say she has been busy with her studies, on account of her final-year exams and upcoming job placements.

According to a relative, she had sat for several placement interviews ahead of the exams, which are currently underway.

By all accounts, Sweety is a talented student. Her mother said, “Even in school, she used to do well. After this, she decided to write the engineering entrance exam, and went to Patna for coaching. She was doing well in college too.”

But she was by no means a shut-in, playing basketball at the zonal level. This wasn’t something she picked up at home, her mother said. “She started playing when she was studying for the entrance exam.”

Her friends from college too recalled a woman who excelled at sports. “Everyone knew her because of this, and that bond has brought everyone together to support her. The college administration has contributed Rs 1 lakh, and teachers have also made donations,” said her friend Aashirvad.

Another friend, Karan said, “She is an animal lover, likes dogs and cats. She is also a great cook. Apart from basketball, she won medals for long jump at the zonal level.”

Her family now has to tackle the ballooning bill for her treatment, which they estimate at Rs 2 lakh a day. Apart from the initial clot in the brain, which the doctors operated on, and the multiple fractures to the leg, there is another clot to deal with. Her parents say they have been told it would be too risky to operate on the second clot, so it is being dealt with using medication.

The expenses are currently being met through crowdfunded donations via social media, as well as contributions from the college and Sweety’s fellow students.
On Thursday, DCP (Greater Noida) Abhishek Verma announced that the Gautam Budh Nagar police would donate a day’s salary towards her treatment.

But in all their concern for their child, Sweety’s parents have not forgotten the perpetrator of the incident – the unidentified driver of a white Santro, according to witnesses. Shivnandan said, “The perpetrator has not been caught.” A relative added, “How is it that in the most developed city of Uttar Pradesh, in a sector that is a decent area, there was no CCTV to catch the culprit?”

Police had earlier announced that three teams are examining CCTV footage and searching for the vehicle, which is yet to be traced.