The cruel wheels of fate crush his hunger and life

Fearing that he would not get any food if he reached late, Konda dashed across the road that goes towards the Alankar theatre from GPO. He had almost crossed the road when the car, speeding towards the theatre, hit him.

Such was the impact of the dash that Konda was flung about 15 feet away. He bumped into a private bus parked near the main gate of the Parmar Chambers building and fell on the road.

His head was virtually crushed as the car ran over him even before he could get up and move away. Konda, who lay still in a pool of blood, was shifted to the Sassoon hospital by some passers-by. He was proclaimed dead on arrival at the hospital.

The investigations revealed that the car belonged to an engineer working with a UP government undertaking who resides in the plush Koregaon Park area.

Govindamma, who was a hapless witness, nearly fainted. Shell-shocked at the death of her only son, she sat staring in void while Konda’s post-mortem went on at the Sassoon Hospital.

“We were hunting for food since morning. Around 9.30 am, we were told by some homeless people that free food was being distributed at Sadhu Vaswani Mission and we decided to go there,” she recalled.

“Anxious that we would not get food we reached there late, Konda kept on urging me to walk fast. When we reached near the Income-Tax office, Konda lost his patience and dashed across the street. I was waiting for a chance to cross the road when I heard Konda’s scream. I turned in the direction and saw Konda being flung away, hitting into the bus and being run over by the car,” she shuddered.

Govindamma said she hails from Koyla Konda village in Suraram district. She came to Pune after her husband, a landless labourer, died around two years back.

The Bund Garden police have filed a case against the car driver whose identity could not be ascertained till late in the evening.