HYDERABAD: A toddler sleeping under a tree near the Yadagirigutta temple was nearly mowed down by a police vehicle on Thursday. The driver was moving the vehicle ahead in search of a suitable parking spot when the incident occurred. Though the girl, P Pranitha, was not run over by the vehicle, she has been critically injured.
She is undergoing treatment at Kamineni Hospital, LB Nagar, and is in a critical condition. The driver, identified as Suresh, a head constable attached to the Armed Reserve Unit of Rachakonda police, was arrested later.
Pranitha, a resident of Chaithanyapuri in Hyderabad, along with her father Mallesh and other family members, was at the Yadadri on a pilgrimage. After the darshan, the father and the daughter went to the old temple premises and fell asleep on the roadside under a tree. Meanwhile, a police vehicle with the plates TS 09PA 5508 was passing by the same route. The driver was looking for a parking spot and moved towards the tree unaware of the fact that the child was sleeping under it.
Pranitha’s relatives told police that girl was sleeping at least 5 m away from the road, and despite that the vehicle hit her. Yadadri Inspector, A Narasimha Rao, said that a case under section 337 of IPC has been registered against the driver.
Dr Prasad Rao, medical superintendent of Kamineni Hospital said Pranitha’s condition was very critical and that she was put on a ventilator. She had received a blunt force injury to her abdomen and suffered a head injury that resulted in massive bleeding