Warden, abandoned by cops and man who ran over her, battles for life

Beena Patel following her surgery after the accident

Traffic warden Beena Patel's life has not been the same since the evening of January 21, when she was hit by a speeding car while she was regulating peak-hour traffic near the Film City junction on the Western Express Highway (WEH).

The incident left her with severe brain injuries and Patel is now in need of urgent surgery that would cost Rs 4.5 lakh, which her poverty-stricken family cannot afford. Her husband Manish is knocking on all doors to try and get any financial help possible.

The car that ran her over

Beena, 33, a resident of Kurar, has been working as a traffic warden for Secure1 Security Services in the Dindoshi division for the last two years. Sources told mid-day that after being hit by the speeding car, Bina fell on the busy road. The driver of the car, Mehboob Shaikh, rushed her to a nearby hospital.

There, she underwent brain surgery after which her initial medical expenses came up to R2 lakh. This was borne by the owner of the car, Ruchita Sanghvi, 48, who requested Beena's family not to register a case against them. However, a few days down the line, when the medical expenses increased further, she stopped paying the hospital bills.

Her ID card

After this, Beena's husband Manish, who is a private labourer, reached Vanrai police station and registered a case against Sanghvi and Shaikh. Following that, doctors told Manish that Beena needs to undergo another brain surgery immediately, which would cost Rs 4.5 lakh.

The family has no money to foot the bill. Speaking about her health, all Dr. Aniruddha Ambekar of Lifeline Medicare hospital, where she has been admitted, said was, "Beena's condition is stable."

She was in uniform when she was taken to the hospital from the accident site

Knocked on all doors
In a bid to get financial assistance, Manish has knocked on the doors of almost all charitable trusts and local politicians. But none have come forward for support. "I have contacted all the trusts, institutions and political parties who generally support people like me during such times. But all of my efforts have proved to be futile because nobody has come forward to support me," Manish told mid-day.

"Today, I am reeling under an acute financial crisis. My wife earns Rs 12,000 a month as traffic warden. I am unable to get her discharged from the hospital because I have no money to pay the bill that is soaring every single day," he added. Last Thursday, Manish met joint commissioner of police (traffic) Amitesh Kumar, who informed Beena's employer Vaibhav More about the incident. "It is the prerogative of her employer to extend help. Her employer has been apprised of the matter," said Kumar.

Beena with husband Manish. Pics/Satej Shinde

Applied for insurance
When mid-day spoke to More, he said, "I was informed a day after the accident. I visited her at the hospital. All of my employees are insured under the Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) scheme to deal with such situations. But since the car owner had assured Beena's family that they will bear the expenses, the ESIC scheme was not activated." He added, "I got to know on February 15 that the car owner has raised her hands. Then, I applied for the insurance online so that Beena could get financial assistance." There has been no update on that application yet.

Late in approaching cops
Senior inspector of Vanrai police station Jyotsana Rasam said, "The family of the victim was late in approaching us. The case was registered on February 6, and the driver was arrested the next day." A source said Beena was on duty when the incident occurred. "She was on duty between 2 pm to 10:30pm. She was dashed by the car at 7:45pm.

But the police did not include section 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and registered the case under sections 279 (rash driving) and 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code, making the case lighter."

Upon being asked it, Rasam said, "She was not on duty when she met with the accident." However, sources said Beena was wearing her uniform when she was rushed to the hospital. She had also been accompanied by a traffic constable."

Rs 4.5 lakh
Estimated cost of brain surgery

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