Three minors, who were speeding on a scooter without wearing helmets, died after their two-wheeler rammed a pole near Delhi Gate here, the police said on Sunday.
The deceased, identified as Mohammad Saad (14), Osama Malik (17) and Hamza Malik (15), all stayed near Turkman Gate with their families. Hamza and Saad were cousins and were studying in a private school in Nizamuddin, while their friend Osama was studying at a madrasa near Delhi Gate.
The boys were returning from a wedding near Turkman Gate, the police said.
The police said that the three juveniles were not wearing helmets and riding the scooter at a high speed when the accident took place on November 30 night.
The vehicle first hit the pavement and then a pole. All three of them had sustained head injuries. They were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were declared brought dead, a senior police officer said.
Their scooter flung at least 25 feet away from the accident spot due to the impact of the accident. The victims were, however, found near the pole, the officer said.
“We were informed about the accident around 11.35 p.m. by a bystander. A police team immediately reached the spot. The officers were told that the injured persons had been rushed to Lok Nayak Hospital by bystanders,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Mandeep Singh Randhawa.
A case has also been registered in this regard, he said.
A Forensic Science Lab team from Rohini visited the spot and collected samples. Skid marks of tyres will also be examined, Mr. Randhawa added.
The police suspect that the vehicle was being driven by Hamza. The scooter is registered under the name of Adil Malik, who is the grandfather of Hamza.
The families have claimed that the boys were being chased by a police van because they did not have helmets on and were not carrying a licence either.
However, the police have denied their claims and said that they have checked the CCTV footage from the area and did not find any police vehicle chasing the boys. The forensic team also probed the matter and confirmed that the scooter was not hit by any other vehicle. The CCTV footage was also shown to the family members of the deceased for clarification, the police added.
Mohammad Javed (44), Hamza’s father, said they had gone to attend a wedding when Hamza arrived to tell them that he wanted to go out with his friends. He left the function around 10.45 p.m. and said that he would be back within half-an-hour.
“When I called him at 11.30 p.m., he did not answer. I was worried and called up Saad, whose phone was found to be switched off. Later, around midnight, I received a call about the incident and rushed to the hospital,” the father said.
