Speeding Maruti mows down four children, 1 killed

NEW DELHI, February 21: Less than two months after the BMW incident, a speeding Maruti car ran over a group of children in the Kanti Naga...

NEW DELHI, February 21: Less than two months after the BMW incident, a speeding Maruti car ran over a group of children in the Kanti Nagar area of east Delhi this evening. One of the children, Swati Gautam, 7, died on the spot, while three more sustained serious injuries.

The Maruti car was undergoing repair and was being driven by a mechanic from a garage in the locality when the the accident occurred. The police have arrested the mechanic, Dharmender. His friend, Deepesh, who was also in the car, however, escaped.

Eyewitnesses say Swati 8212; a student of S.M. Public School in Krishnanagar 8212; and her brother Lavnish, 10, were playing with their friends near their house on the roadside in Kanti Nagar Colony. Around 8 p.m., a white Maruti car came speeding down the road after turning in from a adjoining lane and hit the group of children.

While the other children were flung across the road, Swati was dragged for more than 100 metres. The car came to a stop only after crashing into one of the buildings.

The driver then stepped out of the car to find Swati8217;s body under the chassis. By that time, residents, who were giving chase, reached the site. They managed to overpower the driver. The irate residents gave him a thrashing before handing him over to the police.

Swati8217;s father, Rajesh Gautam, an employee of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, told Express Newsline: 8220;I was in my house when the incident took place. The children were playing on side of the road. And this is a very broad road. I don8217;t understand how the driver killed my child.8221;

Swati was declared dead on arrival when she was taken to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital. She had sustained severe head injuries. Her brother Lavnish and two more children 8212; Binny, 13, and Narender, 15 8212; have been admitted to the hospital. Doctors said the children are out of danger.

Story continues below this ad

The incident led to considerable tension in the area, with the residents blaming the garage owner for allowing the mechanic to take the car for a test-run. The mechanic reportedly said he was trying to avoid a moped coming from the opposite direction, when he lost control.

The Krishnanagar Police have registered a case under Section 304A causing death by negligence of the Indian Penal Code against him.

In a separate accident, a two-year-old body was crushed under a tempo. Two-year-old Rajkumar was sleeping on a pavement in the Jwala Nagar area of Vivek Vihar in east Delhi, when he was run over by a tempo this afternoon. The police say the tempo driver was speeding and lost control as he climbed on to the pavement. Rajkumar died on the spot. Jhuggi dwellers from the area rushed to the spot and prevented the tempo driver from escaping. They smashed the window panes of the tempo and beat up the driver, identified as Jeetu, before handing him over to the police.

In Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, a speeding Blueline bus knocked down a motorcyclist this evening. The bus driver sped away after the incident. The motorcyclist sustained serious head injuries.