Twins die after getting locked inside abandoned car

Five-year-olds were at grandparents’ home in Gurugram’s Jamalpur; kin say they had gone to the vehicle to play with puppies

June 15, 2017 01:40 am | Updated 01:40 am IST - GURUGRAM

Twin sisters, aged around five years, died after accidentally getting locked inside an abandoned car of their family, in Jamalpur village here on Tuesday.

According to the family, the girls, Harsha and Harshita, along with their mother were slated to return to Meerut on Wednesday morning after spending a few days at their grandparents’ home during summer vacations. They, however, went missing on Tuesday afternoon and were found dead inside the abandoned car in the evening.

All in 2 hours

The girls’ uncle, Vikram Yadav, said that the twins liked to play with the newborn puppies living under the car. They were, however, always accompanied by their teenage cousin Harsh who opened the car door and stayed with them all along. While Harsh would take the driver's seat, the two girls would play in the rear seat with the puppies.

“As fate would have it, Harsh went to town for some work on Tuesday morning and the girls sneaked out of the house to play with the puppies around 2 p.m. The car’s door lock was not working properly and could not be opened from inside. The girls probably got stuck inside the car. It was a hot afternoon and no one noticed them there for long,” said Mr. Yadav.

When the twins were not seen in the house, a frantic search began. The family eventually noticed them in the car around 4 p.m., but the two were motionless. “We rushed the two to a private hospital in Manesar where the doctor declared them brought dead,” said Mr. Yadav, adding that the girls had suffocated to death.

The hospital authorities informed the police about the matter and the legal proceedings were initiated in the case, said a police officer. The bodies were handed over to the family on Wednesday morning after post-mortem.

Armyman’s kids

Mr. Yadav recalled that the girls were enrolled in a school in Meerut by their father Gobind, an Army Constable, in April this year. “The twins and their mother, Kirti, were scheduled to return to Meerut today [Wednesday] morning, but it was not to happen. Their parents had never desired for a son after Harsha and Harshita were born. They were adorable kids, we all loved them,” said Mr. Yadav.

Shocking reminder

In a similar incident two years ago, two siblings, aged two and four years, had accidentally locked themselves inside a car and were suffocated to death in Kadarpur village here. Himashi and his younger sister Ritika had got inside their sedan car parked outside the house and accidentally locked it from inside.

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