Ludhiana: In a cruel and heart-wrenching incident, a three-and-a-half-year-old girl, Damul, was crushed to death by a car due to the driver's negligence outside their house in Kitchlu Nagar here.
The unfateful incident took place on Thursday at around 8:30 PM when Damul, daughter of Vikram and Shivani was drawing something on the street along with her cousin.
According to the CCTV footage, accused Ramesh, drove in the reverse gear for nearly 100 metres and run the child over. He was reportedly drunk when the incident took place.
Speaking exclusively to Zee Media, Damul's Uncle Vidhu Malhotra said Ramesh was aware that the girls were playing in the middle of the road still he kept on reversing the vehicle.
“When the incident took place the driver was drunk or must have taken “ganja”. The side mirrors of the car were open when the driver was backing the car, so it is impossible that he did not noticed the kids playing.”
He further said, “The car was a Honda City and the driver deliberately drove over our child. He did stop even for once and kept on backing the car. He even rested the car over our child for three seconds.”
“Traffic movement on this road is very minimum since this is a residential area. Kids play here everyday as there is a park nearby, so, everyone drives on this road very consciously. Since this fact is known to everyone the accused must get stringent punishment,” Vidhu said.
“Though Ramesh (as seen in the CCTV footage) realised that the girl had been hit, he kept on reversing the car. He stopped the vehicle for a second when Damul was under the front tyre,” he added.
However, her cousin, who was inches away from Damul, had a providential escape.
Some local residents rushed to rescue Damul as they saw her laying unconscious on the road. But shockingly, the little girl stood up.
According to Vidhu, “Damul was rushed to hospital after she vomited blood and collapsed, but it was too late as she died on the way.”
As per an eye witness, had the driver spoken the truth, the girl could have been rushed to hospital on time and she could have been saved. Sources said after running Damul over, Ramesh sped away but soon came back. He kept standing among the crowd but did not utter a word that Damul was run over by his vehicle.
Unfortunately, Damul was the voice and ears of her parents who are speech and hearing impaired.
However, accused Ramesh was arrested today after a complaint was lodged by the victim's parents.
