Mumbai: 12-year-old boy riding pillion killed as dumper hits bike, dad loses an arm

MUMBAI: A 12-year-old boy, Ranjit Kanojia, riding pillion with his father died after a dumper allegedly rammed into their scooter in Sion Koliwada on Saturday. The father, Manish Kanojia (45), lost one of his arms as the dumper ran over him, said the police. The dumper driver has been hospitalized as he sustained injuries after being beaten up by passersby, said an officer.

According to the police, Manish, a laundryman who resides at Saat Rasta, and his son had gone to drop off his wife at KEM hospital. After dropping her off, the fatherson duo went to meet a relative in Sion and was on its way home when the incident took place.
“The father tried to overtake from the left and the dumper hit the scooter. There was no space to manouvre toward the left as the area between the road and footpath is illegally occupied by hawkers,” said a source. The father and son fell off the scooter; the child came under the rear tyres of the dumper, said the police, adding that one of Kanojia’s arm too was crushed by the vehicle.
“People caught hold of the dumper driver and beat him up so badly that we had to admit him to Sion hospital under police security,” said Rajeev Vaval, senior inspector of Antop Hill police. The police have registered an offence of death due to negligence and are checking if the dumper driver was under the influence of alcohol.
Locals said Saturday’s was not a stray case and that the spot where the mishap took place was accident-prone, especially due to congestion. “There have been several accidents at the same spot in the past. Hawkers sitting by the road narrow the road, adding to the woes. BEST buses ply on this road and the congestion makes it impossible for pedestrians to even cross,” said Kumar Swamy, a local.
Locals blamed illegal hawkers who sell the old wooden furniture and scrap alongside the road for the accident.