Knocked down by truck, biker dragged for 100 meters before being rescued

Sameer let go of his bike and held onto a metal rod. He was dragged for 100 metres, till onlookers asked the truck driver to stop. Illustration/Uday Mohite

Air conditioner mechanic Sameer Siddiqui, 22, got dragged out of the jaws of certain death, quite literally. On June 7, Sameer was on his way to his cousin's home in Kandivli, when he slid under a truck, got pulled by it for 100 metres and miraculously lived to tell the tale.

While the police arrested the truck driver, but he managed to secure bail. Sameer, who resides in Mira Road, was on his way back from a customer's home in the suburb on the night of June 7, and heading to a cousin's house in Kandivli east. "I asked my best friend Usman Umrao Khan to come with me. We left from Mira Road at 11.15 pm."

Sameer and Usman are on the former's bike, heading to Kandivli on WEH. Sameer sees a car next to him take a right turn and does the same to avoid an accident.

Lost control
The duo were riding Sameer's bike on the Western Express Highway. "In Kandivli East, a car next to my bike was running at the speed of 40-60 km/hr, suddenly took a right turn. To save myself, I also tried to take a right turn, but lost my control over the bike as a truck came up from behind and dashed me. Usman got thrown off the bike and I came under the truck with the vehicle," he added.

"I immediately let go of the bike and along with it, I too came between two tyres of the truck. Then, I don't know what happened, but I raised my left hand and found a metal rod. I was getting dragged under the truck and felt my skin peeling off. But I knew that if I left my hand, I'd be dead. I was trying to shout but nothing came out of my mouth. It felt like the last moments of my life," said Sameer, who was dragged for 100 metres.

Instead of getting saved from an accident, they got involved in one. While Usman was flung off the bike, Sameer slid under a truck with the two-wheeler.

'Couldn't wake him up'
Onlookers saw this and yelled at the truck driver. When he stopped, Sameer came out from below it and saw Usman lying unconscious on the road. "I tried to wake him up, but couldn't. Blood was oozing out of his head. I begged some motorists to stop. An auto rickshaw stopped and I literally threw Usman inside it and sat with him."

Sameer then took him to the Sai Krupa hospital in Kandivli. Usman suffered five stitches on the head. Sameer's skin on the back has peeled away and he was also gravely injured in his shoulders, butt and legs.

Usman said, "I gained consciousness in the hospital, When I fell off from the bike, I thought both of us were going to die, especially after I saw Sameer go under the truck. But by god's grace and our parents' blessings, we're alive."

Driver gets bail
The Samata Nagar police arrested the truck driver, identified as Riyazuddin Mansuri. He was taken to the police station and booked under sections 279 (Rash driving) and 337 (endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code. He was arrested but he managed to secure bail, said an officer from Samata Nagar police station. "The rider would have died had he not held the rod. We arrested the truck driver and he secured bail," said Anil Mane, senior inspector, Samata Nagar police station.

Also read: Mumbai: Rash biker kills teenage girl after dragging her for 100 metres

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