Two medical students were killed at the recently inaugurated Signature Bridge in north Delhi on Friday morning after the sports bike they were riding rammed the railing of the bridge, following which they fell on a metalled road underneath the bridge from a height of 30 feet.
The police said that the vehicle was being driven at a high speed.
The deceased have been identified as Satyavijay Shankaram, who was a junior doctor at Hindu Rao Hospital, and Chander Shekhar Sharma, a 20-year-old second-year MBBS student of the same college. The two lived in the college hostel and were roommates.
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‘No helmets’
A traffic policeman, who was on duty at the bridge at the time of the incident, was among the first respondents. He said the rider and the pillion rider were not wearing helmets. He also confirmed that the bikers were not performing stunts or clicking selfies.
Additional DCP Jasmeet Singh said that after visiting the Signature Bridge, the two men were riding towards Timarpur from north-east Delhi side. As soon as they reached the approach road after crossing the main bridge, the rider lost control over the vehicle. They fell from the bridge after their bike hit a railing.
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“We are trying to find out the exact sequence of events. No eyewitness to the incident has been found so far. The police control room received a call from a passer-by at 8.50 a.m. regarding the accident. The injured were taken to a hospital, where they were declared brought dead,” said Mr. Singh.
A police officer, who visited the spot, said it appears that the biker was trying to take a left turn on the approach road towards Majnu Ka Tila. The two-wheeler ran off the roadway and hit the railing since it was being driven at a high speed, and the two fell. “We have registered a case under IPC Sections 279 [rash driving] and 304 A [causing death by negligence] against unknown persons at Timarpur police station,” the officer added.
The bike belonged to Satyavijay, who was from Bihar’s Gopalganj. Chander’s family lives in south Delhi’s Khanpur. Doctors told the police that the two men had suffered multiple fractures and severe head injuries, which proved fatal.
The police have ruled out the theory of the bike’s footrest getting caught in loose electric wires on the bridge leading to the accident. Further investigation is under way, they said.
‘Bridge opened in hurry’
Meanwhile, people present on the Signature Bridge said the authorities had inaugurated it in a hurry, thus overlooking the issue of safety and security of visitors.
‘Bridge unsafe’
“Absence of CCTV cameras, speed bumps and rumble strips at curves on the bridge makes it unsafe for visitors and commuters. The bridge is still under construction and many electrical fittings are yet to be covered,” pointed out Shyam Sahu, a visitor.