13-year-old girl killed in mishap on railway overbridge

NAGPUR:The chaotic traffic on the old Ram Jhula bridge led to a tragic mishap in which 13-year-old Rida Fatema, Std VIII student, was crushed under wheels of a light carrier vehicle on Tuesday. The delayed Ram Jhula project is leading to obtrusive vehicular movements on the old bridge where accidents are adding to the woes to the already aggravated traffic flow.
Rida, riding pillion with mother Saika Parveen, was thrown on the road as the vehicle skidded after killer mini-truck tried to graze them past. The mother-daughter’s two-wheeler suffered a dash from behind before they crashed on the road. The traffic, as usual in the rush hours, was moving in disorderly fashion on the bridge despite the presence of traffic cops on either side of the Ram Jhula to avoid piling up in the bottlenecks due to the ongoing construction of the new flyover adjacent to it. The victim and her mother were heading to their residence at Pallotti Nagar on their scootterate when the incident took place.
Mother Saika had a miraculous escape as she fell on the right hand side but Rida came under the rear wheels of the right side of the mini truck which was also heading towards Jaisthambh Square. An injured Rida was rushed to Mayo Hospital with serious head injury by her mother and another biker. Rida was declared dead after some time at the hospital.
An inconsolable Saika was being pacified by a horde of relatives and friends who had reached the hospital after being alerted. Saika’s blood-drenched white ‘odhani’ bore the tell tale sign of how the women wrapped her injured daughter while rushing to the hospital.
Rida is second among three siblings. She has an elder and younger brother. The family sources claimed that the parents had to struggle a lot to raise the daughter. Rida’s father Mohd Atah has recently gone to Sharjah. He is expected to arrive in city tomorrow.
A family source claimed that Rida had gone to Government Medical College and Hospital for dental problems. Later, the mother-daughter duo had gone to a relative’s place from GMCH before heading for home.
The incident triggered a snarl on the bridge for sometime. There was also confusion among the cops to decide on the jurisdiction of the crime between Tehsil, Ganeshpeth and Sitabuldi police stations. Later the case was handled by Sitabuldi police who has already rounded up the driver of the killer vehicle, identified as Bhisaram Bhise, slapping a case of rash and negligent driving apart from charging him with causing death by negligence.
In another mishap, 50-year-old Radhika Nirpute was killed after being dashed by an unidentified auto-rickshaw at Naik Wadi in Bangladesh locality. Nirpute, a construction site worker, was sieving sand on the roadside when she was dashed. The woman was rushed to Mayo hospital where she was declared dead. Pachpaoli police have registered an offence against unidentified autorickshaw driver.
HOW THE INCIDENT HAPPENED
* Saika Parveen and her daughter Rida were driving towards Jaistambh Square
* The mother-daughter duo was crossing railway overbridge which was packed with vehicles moving on either direction in chaotic fashion
* Saika was trying to surge ahead in the haphazard traffic with the killer mini-truck came from behind
* The mother lost control of the two-wheeler as the mini truck tried to move ahead grazing them past
* Saika’s two-wheeler skidded in the traffic
* The mother fell on the right on the side while Rida fell down on the left.
* Rida came under the rear wheels of the right hand side of the mini-truck