9-month-old run over by excavator twice in RK Puram

NEW DELHI: A nine-month-old baby girl was killed after she was run over twice, allegedly by an excavator truck ,on Sunday afternoon at a slum cluster in south Delhi’s RK Puram.

Police said the excavator truck was being used for levelling a ground near the slums.

The work was being carried out by a contractor of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), said Milind Dumbre, deputy commissioner of police (southwest).

The driver, who fled the spot, was later identified and arrested.

A case of rash driving and death by negligence was registered at the RK Puram police station. Police have impounded the excavator and is looking for its owner and the contractor.

The baby’s father, Brajesh, a labourer, told police that on Sunday at around 3pm, his wife lay their daughter on a mat placed right outside their slum so that she could play in the sun.

She was busy finishing her house work. Around 3.30pm, the driver of the excavator was reversing the vehicle at a high speed and he ran over the baby, crushing her under its rear wheels.

“When my wife saw the excavator moving towards our daughter, she ran to save the child. She screamed for help and asked the excavator driver to

stop. But by the time the driver could hear my wife’s screams and stop the vehicle, the truck had already ran over our daughter’s head,” said Brajesh.

A police officer said that when the child’s mother started screaming, the excavator driver panicked and attempted to flee along with the vehicle. I

n the process, he ran the vehicle over the child’s body again, and she died on the spot.

The driver then fled from the spot.

“My wife chased and caught hold of the driver. But he pushed her and ran away. Our neighbour called the police control room,” Brajesh added.

A police team rushed the baby to AIIMS Trauma Centre where doctors confirmed that the child was dead.