HYDERABAD: Great rider, fantastic human being, ever smiling, gifted soul. This is how Hyderabadi bikers remember one of the India’s top women bikers Veenu Paliwal, who died in a road accident on Monday.
While her death shocked the community, bikers from the city feel that it’s high time people stop blaming bikers for all accidents and deaths.
Mihir Shah, a 48-year-old biker from the city, said, “I have known Veenu very closely and one thing I can say for sure is that she is a responsible rider who always wears a protective gear and advocates safety. We all are very sad for her demise, we lost a member of our family. All we want to convey is that always ride with a complete gear and stop blaming superbikes or riders for accidents.”
Shah, who lastly met Paliwal at India Bike Week in Goa, stressed that owning a sports bike or riding one cannot be termed as bad.
“There is this misconception that all the people who own a fancy bike are irresponsible and rich brats who love speed, but that’s not true. The bikes are very costly and bought from our hard-earned money. We are as responsible as any other person and it’s time we stop treating bikers as villains,” he added.
Paliwal, 44, was on a nationwide tour on her Harley Davidson when the accident took place. According to reports, she died after her bike went out of control on a turn and skid off the road near Gyaraspur, about 100 km from Bhopal. She was rushed to a Primary Health Centre and later to the Vidisha district hospital, where she was declared brought dead.
However, contrary to the reports, Hyderabad bikers are saying that Paliwal died as she developed an allergy to the injection administered.
“Veenu was a very brilliant rider. It’s not the accident that killed her. She was riding approximately at the speed of 70kmph and when her bike skid, and she injured her arm. At the PHC, once the injection was administered, she did not react well and died,” Shyam Kapoor, director, Banjara Harley, said.
Talking about the bike she was riding, he said “It’s a cruise bike. You can’t actually race on it. It is made for long drives and a normal Pulsar could easily beat it in speed,” he said.
Vimal Bajwa, a female biker from the city, who met Paliwal a week back, said, “I had known Veenu for quite some time and she is a great rider. We are really proud to have an elder sister like her to guide us and it is unfortunate that she died suddenly. When people talk about bikes and bikers, they need to know the difference. Not all bikes are sports bikes and speed is not always the reason for death.”