A 15-year-old girl was killed and her 13-year-old friend sustained injuries after they were run over by a speeding water tanker on their way to school in west Delhi’s Janakpuri on Monday morning, the police said. The accused driver has been arrested, they said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vijay Kumar said that the victims have been identified as Nagma and Samreen. Nagma lost her life, while Samreen is admitted in a hospital.
“The arrested accused has been identified as Sultan Singh [46],” Mr. Kumar said.
The police said that the incident happened around 7 a.m. The friends, who live in Bindapur, were walking to school. “They crossed the road and were walking on the pavement. The speeding tanker hit them. Nagma was fully crushed and Samreen was crushed from below her waist,” said a police officer privy to the case.
“The truck was coming from Bindapur side. Eyewitnesses said that it was being driven at a very high speed and they accused the driver of rash driving,” Mr. Kumar said.
The driver had attempted to flee, but was caught by locals. However, he still managed to flee leaving the truck behind.
The injured girls were rushed to Mata Chanan Devi Hospital, where Nagma was declared dead.
The girls used to study at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Janakpuri’s A-Block and the incident happened about a kilometre away from the school.
A case under IPC Sections 304A (causing death due to negligence) and 279 (rash driving or driving on public way) has been registered and further investigation is underway. “The accused, who had fled was arrested with the help of human and technical surveillance,” the police officer said.