In Jaipur tunnel,girl,mother bleed to death as motorists ignore cries for help

Jaipur coldly ignored a family wailing for help in the Ghat ki Ghuni tunnel on Sunday afternoon after a truck mowed down two members of the family in an accident

Jaipur coldly ignored a family wailing for help in the Ghat ki Ghuni tunnel on Sunday afternoon after a truck mowed down two members of the family in an accident.

A couple and their two children were headed to the outskirts of the city and had driven 300 metres into the tunnel when they overtook a truck. As per CCTV footage,the truck mowed down the motorcycle,killing the woman and her eight-month-old daughter on the spot.

Kanhaiyalal Raigher,who was driving the two-wheeler,and his four-year-old son,Tanish,had a miraculous escape but what followed was worse than a nightmare.

Kanhaiyalal saw his wife,Guddi Devi,26,and daughter,Arushi,breathe their last while he frantically called for help but to no avail. Passersby in cars and trucks ignored him and CCTV footage showed that for around 10 minutes,Kanhaiyalal wailed and helplessly stood in the middle of the tunnel with no one coming to his aid,but steering past the distraught family. Even as he cried for help,Kanhaiyalal tried calling for the ambulance but the tunnel has no cellphone connectivity and therefore,he could not even reach the police or the ambulance services.

Later,workers engaged in repair works inside the tunnel came to his aid and called for an ambulance.

Guddi Devi and Arushi were declared dead on arrival.

The family was going to Guddi Devis paternal house and had taken the tunnel to reach there. Two-wheelers are not allowed to ply inside the tunnel,but Kanhaiyalal risked it thinking he would save time by taking it as the other route is longer and the roads are not in a good condition.

The incident shocked the city and the state government swung into action ordering an inquiry into the incident. The truck has been identified through CCTV footage and is being tracked down,officials said. The BJP slammed the state government for not ensuring adequate security in the tunnel and its proper maintenance and also called for an explanation on how a two-wheeler could enter the tunnel when its meant for only four-wheelers.

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The Ghat ki ghuni tunnel was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in January. The tunnel promises to make travel on the Jaipur-Agra road easy.