Mumbai: ‘Traffic police, BMC, killed my mother’

Chhaya Yadav, the retired nurse who died on Thursday. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

If the authorities had done their job right, she would have been alive today," said the 42-year-old Mulund resident whose mother was crushed to death by a reversing dumper truck on Thursday. Speaking with mid-day on Friday, Rajendra Yadav blamed the BMC for dug up roads and the traffic police for failing to take action against parking that chokes the road where Chhaya Yadav died.

Chhaya, who retired as a nurse from Rajawadi Hospital, lived with her grandchildren in the MHADA area in Mulund East. The 69-year-old had left home in the morning to withdraw her pension from the bank. Thereafter, she went to the market to buy vegetables.

Parking and dug-up footpath choke this road in Mulund East, say Rajendra

While returning home, a dumper truck that was reversing hit her and she came under its rear tyres. The incident took place in front of RR Education school in Mulund East. "The pedestrians tried to save her, but she died on the spot," said Sunil Kamble, senior inspector of Navghar police station.

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The driver of the dumper truck bearing registration MH-03-CP-8410 fled the spot, he added. However, the cops nabbed the driver, identified as Premchand Prajapati, within the next couple of hours. They booked him under IPC Section 304A (causing death by negligence) and relevant Sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.

"Almost everywhere in Mulund, roads are dug up. These roads further choke when people park their vehicles. During the rush hour, two vehicles can't even pass side by side. It has created a challenge for not just motorists, but pedestrians as well," said Rajendra.

"The road at the spot where my mother died was dug up over a month ago. Even the footpath does not have space, forcing the pedestrians to walk on the road. There is a water tank on the road. There is a school near the accident spot and hundreds of children gather there. The choked-up road is a risk to their lives as well," he said.

Rajendra Yadav, the deceased's son. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

"I still cannot believe my mother is dead," Rajendra said, adding that he has written to the BMC and traffic police department, urging action against those responsible. "I expect the authorities to take serious cognisance of the matter and punish those responsible," he said.

Mulund resident Ravi Naik, president of MHADA residents' association, said, "A few months back, I wrote to the traffic police about the issue of double parking. I had warned that the situation could lead to an accident. However, the traffic police didn't act on time, resulting in the death of an elderly woman. We cannot just blame the dumper driver for her untimely demise; the onus is on the administration as well. At least now they should act and mark the road as a no-parking zone until the construction work is complete. This would ensure the safety of the pedestrians as well as motorists."