Gaurav Gill, another driver booked in connection with accident that claimed three lives
BARMER: Arjuna awardee Gaurav Gill and another driver have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder for the death of three people of a family after his car smashed into a motorbike on Saturday in Rajasthan’s Barmer district.
The tragedy where three members of a single family lost their lives happened during the car-racing event at the Indian National Rally Championship on Saturday morning in Samdari-Balotra area of Rajasthan. A police official said companies involved in the event -- Maxperienace, Mahindra, JK Tyres, MRF Tyres and the Federation of Motor Sports Club of India -- have also been named in the FIR.
However, looking at the gravity of the tragedy and the possible negligence behind it, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has shunted out the District Collector Himanshu Gupta and SP of Barmer Shivraj Meena who have both been placed under APO or Awaiting Posting Orders.
The Gehlot government has asked the Divisional Commissioner of Jodhpur to hold a detailed investigation and submit a detailed report on this accident to the Home Department within seven days. According to preliminary reports, no official permission had been given to organise the event nor were any special arrangements made for holding the Indian National Rally Championship in Barmer.
Additional Superintendent of Police Khinv Singh said an FIR was lodged at Samdari police station at 2 am on Sunday on a complaint by Rahul, the elder son of the deceased. In his FIR, Rahul claims that his parents were standing along the road with the motorcycle, talking to his younger brother, when Gill's car hit them and two other cars coming from behind also crushed them. Gill and driver M Sharif were booked under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), the ASP said, adding that their names were written on the vehicle that hit the motorcycle of the deceased.
Meanwhile, the bodies of Narendra Kumar, his wife Pushpa Devi and son Jitendra were still lying at the spot as villagers and family members demanded compensation, a government job to a kin and the arrest of the accused.
"The stalemate is continuing. Efforts are being made to end it but the organisers of the rally are not cooperating. The villages are demanding since yesterday that the organisers come to the spot but they are not responding," SHO of Samdari Police Station Bhuta Ram said. He said that the local police had no update about the whereabouts of Gaurav Gill.
The horrific accident where the motorcycle was hit by Gill's car and left the couple and their son dead happened at Hotarada village of Samadri police station area occurred at 8.30 am on Saturday morning when the bike rider was going to his farm. Seeing the racing car coming from the opposite side at a tremendous speed, the riders parked their bike on the roadside but the unaware racing car driver was startled to see the obstruction and lost control of his car.
The car hit the bike riders so severely that the trio of husband,wife and son were thrown off almost twenty feet away. Three other racing cars coming from behind also crossed the bike riders and some of them even dragged their bodies to almost about 200 feet.
Arjun Awardee Gaurav Gill, who was driving the car that met with the fatal accident, escaped from the spot. Police have detained two cameramen from the spot while the dead bodies have been sent to the hospital for post-mortem.
The deceased have been identified as Nemi Chand, his wife Pushpa and their son Jitendra. According to available information, permission was sought by rally organisers from the District Collector on August 27 regarding the Indian National Rally Championship vide a written application. Giving permission, the District Collector had sent a letter to the subordinate administration and police department informing that the rally would be held from September 20 to 22 and the same information was also sent to Samadri police station.
Unfortunately, the Samdari police did not make any arrangements regarding security though they should have stopped traffic during racing time to avoid accidents. However, it may be pointed out that the team connected with national racing arrived with complete security arrangements which included firemen as well as fire fighting systems, ambulances but the police showed no seriousness about the safety and life of the villagers.
Though the family of the deceased alleges that there were no proper safety and security arrangements in place during the race in Barmer.