CHENNAI : A 17-year-old boy riding pillion in a bike was thrown from the MIT flyover in Chromepet after the bike hit the sidewalls and died on the way to hospital on Friday. Even as passersby were shocked by the freak accident, police said they had found 1.2-kg ganja in the backpack of the deceased.The bike was driven by a 16-year-old friend of the deceased, who the police suspect was also under the influence of drugs.“The boys on their way from Tambaram and going towards Hastinapuram and when they climbed the bridge, the rider lost control,” police sources said.
“The 16-year-old boy, a school dropout, had borrowed the newly purchased bike from his father. As the rider was taking a left turn on top of the bridge, his vehicle rammed into the safety wall and the pillion rider was thrown off from a height of about 35 feet,” said the investigation officer. The passersby rushed the boy, who sustained severe head injuries, to the hospital where they declared him brought dead. The rider who sustained injuries on his hand was taken discharged after treatment.
Investigations revealed that the deceased would often go to Madurai to purchase ganja and sell it in the city. “He had roped in his school friend. The sellers usually target and hire schoolchildren and dropouts as peddlers to escape the radar” said police.A relative of the deceased waiting at the mortuary at Chromepet GH told Express the boy had dropped out of school after class 8. “His father had abandoned the family and due to financial constrains, he had to give up studies. His elder brother worked in a petrol bunk and looked after the family. The victim also worked in the same bunk for a while and later quit,” she said.
She added that the police claimed to have found ganja from his bag, but that did not belong to him. “He would ask for `5 or `10 and never more than that. With that money he cannot afford even a meal, let alone drugs,” she said. The relative further said that on Friday, he left home around 10 am to meet his friend. Around 12 noon the police informed the boy had fallen off the bridge and died. He would have celebrated his birthday on September 12, she added.
The vehicle did not bear a registration number as it was brand new. “The turn on the MIT Bridge is dangerous. The boy took a deep turn and rammed the wall,” he added.Chromepet traffic investigation wing and law and order police have registered cases separately against the rider. The duo already had theft cases registered against them, the police added.