Out for an ice cream treat with his family at India Gate, a 42-year-old man and his 8-year-old daughter were killed when a speeding truck hit their two-wheeler after ramming two autorickshaws and before driving onto the lawns on Monday night, the police said on Tuesday.
Two injured
Accused driver Raman from Badarpur has been arrested, they said. The deceased have been identified as Kewal Dhiman and Manya while the injured — autorickshaw driver Deepak Kumar and labourer Ram Singh, who was on the footpath at that time, — are undergoing treatment. The victim’s family from Geeta Colony told The Hindu that Kewal had taken his wife Poonam and daughters — Manya and Myra (2) —, to India Gate to have ice cream after dinner when the incident happened.
The family, who were narrated the incident by an eyewitness, said at 12 a.m., the speeding truck rammed two autorickshaws and then hit the parked two-wheeler on which Kewal and his family were enjoying the dessert. The vehicle then entered the lawns before coming to a halt. “My brother was under the wheels of the truck and was even dragged for some distance. The impact on Manya was such that she was half inside the mud,” said Kewal’s sister Mona Arora.
‘Pushed wife’
She also said her brother had realised that the truck was approaching them and pushed his wife. His younger daughter was in a porch, therefore, the two survived but remained unconscious for a while. Ms. Arora blamed the police for not taking Manya to a hospital while she was still breathing. She also said the police did not act immediately.
“After a while, my sister-in-law gained consciousness and saw Manya lying in the mud, who was still breathing. She pulled her out and called her brothers, who rushed the minor to a hospital where she was declared brought dead. The police had just reached the spot... this is when officers are around nook and corner of India Gate,” the sister alleged.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Eish Singhal remained unavailable to comment on the allegations. The family said it was Manya’s examination on Tuesday and she had asked her father to take them out for ice cream. “The father and daughter were inseparable and it is tragic that they even died together. He always said he would want to see her become a doctor,” the sister said.
Sole breadwinner
Kewal worked in share market industry and was the sole breadwinner.
The police said the accused’s blood sample has been taken for an alcohol test and further investigation is under way.
