Car cleaner drives over pregnant woman
ASHOK VIHAR Fivemonth pregnant woman and a relative crushed between a car and a wall when a man tried to drive the sedan parked in a corner while cleaning it
A five-month pregnant woman was killed and her relative critically injured after a Honda City car being driven allegedly by a cleaner hit them in north Delhi’s Ashok Vihar on Tuesday morning.
Pooja, 21, and her sister-inlaw, Kamlesh, were washing utensils outside an under-construction building when the accident took place around 7.30 am. Pooja, who was expecting, was brought dead at a hospital while Kamlesh is undergoing treatment for serious injuries at AIIMS trauma centre.
Police have arrested Krishan, a 25-year-old man who was employed by the car owner as a cleaner. Police claimed that the initial probe has suggested that Krishna was trying to move the car when he accidentally pressed the accelerator.
Pooja’s family members, however, have alleged that the car was being driven by someone other than Krishan and that there was an attempt at cover-up. Milind Dumbere, DCP (North-West), dismissed the allegations, saying their probe so far has not revealed any such thing.
“No one from the victim’s family has approached us with such an allegation. If they give a written complaint, we will probe it,” said Dumbere.
“One CCTV camera captured the car moving, but not the actual accident,” said the DCP when asked if the driver was caught on camera.
Alleging that police had not investigated the case properly, some relatives and friends of the victims created a ruckus and tried to damage vehicles in the neighbourhood on Tuesday afternoon.
The car belongs to a businessman living in Phase 1 of Ashok Vihar’s E-Block. According to the police, Krishna was given the car keys when the owner wanted him to clean the car interiors.
“Krishan wanted to clean the rear portion of the car so he decided to drive it a little out of the corner where it was parked. He turned on the car, shifted the gear and pressed accelerator. But he was unable to apply the brakes in time,” said Vikas Kumar, ACP (Ashok Vihar).
The car sped about 15 metres across the road to crash into Pooja and Kamlesh who were washing utensils next to a wall at the construction site. The impact of the crash was such that the car’s air bags opened.
The two women were crushed between the wall and the car. Locals rushed to the accident spot and pushed the car back to bring the two women out before rushing them to a hospital.
The person behind the wheel, meanwhile, escaped from the accident spot before being caught by the police sometime later. Police have claimed that Krishan panicked after the accident and feared being beaten if caught.
A native of Madhya Pradesh, Pooja, lived in a temporary home at the construction site where her husband works as a security guard. Mother to a twoyear-old son, the pregnant woman worked as a housemaid, earning around ₹5,000 per month.
In a similar incident in 2012, a secret joyride by a car cleaner in a Maruti Swift Dzire belonging to an under secretary in the MEA had ended up killing two friends in south Delhi’s Gulmohar Park.