Tanker crushes 5-yr-old

The tanker driver, Mohammad Farooq Khan, tried to escape, but was caught by passersby and beaten up. He was later arrested by the Kurla police and the tanker (MWM 1437) was seized. A case has been registered under the Indian Penal Code 304 (A).

Eyewitnesses said the driver was speeding recklessly and could do very little to save the child. Even before the police could reach the spot, an angry crowd of 500 people assembled and bashed up the driver. “I would have been killed by the mob if the police had not arrived in time,” Farooq said. He added that he was not drunk as made out by the people.

“I tried my best to stop the truck, but it was too late,” he said. Firoze’s father, however blamed the driver for the accident. “My son would have been alive if the driver was a bit more careful. Feroze was my only son. This year I wanted to send him to school…we had also planned a visit to our native place in Uttar Pradesh and had also booked the tickets,” he said sobbing.

Feroze’s mother fainted when she heard the news.

Ashwani Singh, a resident of the slums, whose uncle died in a similar accident some time back, told Express Newsline that despite the bad condition of the road, the truck was being driven recklessly.

He complained that the road was in a very poor condition and there was not enough space for free movement of vehicles as trucks were illegally parked on both sides.“The slums here are densely populated and the residents have to walk in the middle of the road. The authorities have not even constructed a speed-breaker to prevent accidents of this nature,” he said.

Police sub-inspector, Vilash Sonde said, the owner of the transport company Sameer Carriers has been summoned for questioning tomorrow.