A four-year-old boy was fatally knocked down by a speeding SUV (sports utility vehicle) on Triplicane High Road on Thursday afternoon. According to police, the driver of the vehicle is absconding after the accident.
The boy, Naresh, was run over when the vehicle was getting into Munoth Centre, a commercial complex on Triplicane High Road. He died on the spot. Naresh lived with his parents, Ravi and Ammu, on the footpath outside the complex. Ravi works in a printing press in Border Thottam, Triplicane.
As word of the accident spread, angry residents squatted on the road preventing vehicle movement.
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The vehicle, which bore the registration number TN 06E 1234 and sported the flag of a political party, was damaged by the angry crowd with bricks. The windshields and window panes were broken. With tension prevailing in the area, police placed barricades and closed entry from Wallajah Road into Triplicane High Road even while trying to control the crowd.
Some people in the crowd alleged that soon after the accident the police escorted the occupants of the SUV to safety.
It was only after the arrival of Joint Commissioner (Central) K. Shanker that police were able to disperse the crowd and the body of the child was retrieved and sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for autopsy.
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It took another 20 minutes to tow the SUV away as the residents continued to protest and used anything they could lay hands on to damage the vehicle.
The Anna Square Traffic Police have registered a case of death due to negligent driving under Indian Penal Code Section 304 (A) and are investigating.