A seven-year-old boy, who was trying to catch a ball during a cricket match that was being played close to a busy road near Ramlila Ground in central Delhi on Saturday evening, died after being hit by a tempo, the police said on Sunday. The police said that they have arrested the tempo driver.

‘Was chasing ball’

The incident took place around 4.15 p.m. when the boy, identified as Mohammad Talig, who lived in Khwaja Meer Dard Colony with his family, was playing cricket with his friends near Shakur Ki Dandi, they said.

Eyewitnesses told the police that the boy, while chasing the ball, had come on the main road in front of Zakir Hussain College where he was hit by the speeding tempo.

‘Thrown 10 feet away’

“Locals said that the impact of the collision was such that the boy was thrown at least ten feet away. He sustained severe injuries in the neck and head,” said a police officer.

The tempo driver, identified as Omprakash Yadav (30), took the child to Lok Nayak Hospital with the help of passers-by where the doctors pronounced the child dead, the police added.

The police said that the locals called them up and handed over the driver to them. An FIR was registered based on the statement of one Parvez, who hails from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh and lives in the same neighbourhood as Talig. Parvez claimed to have witnessed the accident.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) M.S. Randhava said, based on the statement, they have registered a case under charges of rash driving and causing death due to negligence against the driver.

Examining CCTV footage

“We will find out if the driver was under the influence of alcohol when the incident took place. We are also examining CCTV camera footage of the area to establish the sequence of events,” he also said.

The police further said that Talig is survived by his mother and two brothers, adding that his father had left the house around five years ago.