Bereaved families blame official lapse for loss, seek justice

I have lost my brother. He would have been alive had the rescue operations started soon. The policemen didn’t even know about the car till morning and no ambulance arrived on the spot

“We want justice…No one should go through such an ordeal. No more families should lose their loved ones. When will the administration wake up from its slumber?” said Surekha Sharma.

Sharma’s son Rahul was one of the five people who died when an overloaded truck overturned and collapsed on a car near Chomu House Circle on June 6.

The family members of the deceased held a press conference on Sunday appealing to the administration to take action against overloaded vehicles.

Apart from Rahul, his fiancé, Roshni, her sister Jyoti and cousins Avantika and Nitesh had died in the accident.

For over three hours, the police had no inkling that the car was buried beneath the truck carrying 47 tonnes of salt.

“I have lost my brother. He would have been alive had the rescue operations started soon. The police didn’t even know about the car till morning and no ambulance came to the spot,” said Astha Sharma, Rahul’s sister. “There should be zero tolerance towards overloading and every large vehicle should be digitally monitored and strict action should be taken against those violating the rules,” said Sharma.

The family members were also aghast at the fact that none of the traffic signals, CCTV cameras and traffic lights was working near the accident site. “The overloaded truck passed through the jurisdiction of nine police stations but the cops didn’t know about it. We demand the suspension of all police inspectors of these places,” said Giriraj Sharma, Rahul’s father.

Clutching a photo of Avantika and Nitesh Sharma, their mother Priti Sharma broke down as she reflected on the fact that she would never see her children again. “No one from the administration has reached out to us. We don’t want anything except an assurance that no one else will lose their lives because of the laxity of the system,” said Sharma.

The family members also alleged belongings that the deceased had with them, including jewellery was missing. “Bracelets that my sister was wearing haven’t been returned along with a few other items,” said Shubham Sharma, brother of Roshni and Jyoti . Girriraj Sharma, Rahul’s father, said that there was no money in Rahul’s wallet which they received after the accident.