Teen scholar dies in road accident
nGREATER NOIDA: A 19-year-old woman, who scored 98% in Class 12 board examinations in 2018 and was pursuing a graduate degree in the United States, died in a road accident in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr after being harassed by two men on a motorcycle, her family alleged on Tuesday.
Sudeeksha Bhati, a resident of Greater Noida’s Dadri, was on a motorcycle with her uncle on Monday when the two men on another bike began following them and performed stunts on the road, the family said. At one point, the men overtook them and applied the brakes suddenly, causing the young woman and her uncle to fall over, they said. Bhati suffered head injuries in the incident that took place around 9:30am. She died in a hospital later that day.
The incident sparked outrage with former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra condemning the incident and criticising the law and order situation in the state.
“Two persons on a Royal Enfield bike tried to overtake us multiple times. I applied brakes and slowed down my bike. But they continued doing stunts on the road. They suddenly came in front of us and applied brakes immediately. Our bike collided against the Enfield...i fell on one side. Sudeeksha fell on her back, received critical injuries on her head and died,” Satyendra Bhati, her uncle, said.
“I could not identify the suspects as I was so disturbed. I just noticed ‘Jaat’ written on the Enfield bike,” he said. The uncle added that he was the one driving the vehicle with Bhati on pillion.
The Bulandshahr police registered a case in the matter on Tuesday night and formed a threemember special investigation team (SIT), led by circle officer (city) Diksha Singh and comprising two crime branch officials.
The police and district administration contradicted the family’s version. Officials said Bhati’s minor brother was driving the motorcycle and that allegations of harassment did not come to light at the time of the incident. They said Bhati and her brother were not wearing helmets.
Later, a video clip surfaced, purportedly showing the police recording the minor’s statement from the accident spot.
Bulandshahr superintendent of police Atul Kumar Shrivastava said Bhati’s body was sent for a post-mortem examination and an investigation was underway. “The matter of harassment had not come to light at the time of accident. We are probing the matter from all angles,” he said.
Bhati, a tea seller’s daughter who topped Bulandshahr district in humanities stream two years ago and won a ₹3.8-crore scholarship, returned from the US in June in the wake of the pandemic, her family said.
On August 20, she was set to return to Massachusetts, where she was pursuing a graduation course in entrepreneurship at Babson College.
Jitendra Bhati, the victim’s father, termed the incident a murder. “The incident took place as they harassed our daughter. She had dreams to work for the society and empower girls. From August 5, she also started online classes for local children. My daughter was scheduled to return to USA on August 20, and hence she wanted to meet her close relatives,” he said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said: “The incident in Bulandshahr displays the absence of fear of law in UP, and an atmosphere of insecurity among women in the state. It seems the administration does not take incidents like harassment of women seriously. There is need for sweeping changes. ”