Woman cricketer injured in e-way car crash

GREATER NOIDA: A 25-year-old woman cricketer returning to her Delhi home from Agra, along with her seven pet dogs, suffered significant facial injuries after her Alto crashed into the grille on the side of the road near the Navada exit of the Yamuna Expressway on Sunday night.
One of the pet dogs died in the accident, while the others are being treated at a veterinary hospital. Police suspect Rakhi Sharma might have dozed off at the wheel for a while or got distracted by the dogs and lost control of the vehicle. However, People for Animals (PFA) has lodged a complaint of negligence against her.
The accident occurred around 9.30 pm when Rakhi was coming back to Delhi from a friend’s house in Agra after being stuck there for over two months due to Covid-19 lockdown. Rakhi, a state-level cricketer, currently plays for Chandigarh, her family said.
Rajesh Kumar Singh, DCP (Zone 3), said that as soon as they had received information about the crash from the toll operators in Navada, a police team immediately reached the spot and rushed the injured woman to Kailash Hospital. “The injured dogs were also taken to a veterinary hospital in Greater Noida, where one of them — a female German Shepherd — succumbed to its injuries,” he said.
Singh said Rakhi suffered severe facial injuries. “Either she had dozed off behind the wheel or got distracted by the dogs in the car. The Alto was also badly damaged. The six other injured pets, including five puppies around six months old, and a Siberian Husky, were all sitting next to Rakhi in the car,” he said.
Activists from PFA filed a complaint against the woman for violation of Transport for Animals Act as well as Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, along with rash driving and negligence. Kaveri Rana, PFA’s district president, alleged that the woman had stuffed seven dogs in her Alto car. “The injured dogs have fractures all over their bodies, and the condition of some are very critical. Also, there’s clear negligence from her side that led to the death of one of the dogs, we seek an FIR against her,” she said.
The police said that an FIR will be registered only after due investigation.