Sparsh Rawal had a packed day ahead. Afternoon was to be spent with friends planning a birthday party for one of them and in the evening he had promised another friend a game of badminton. But it was not to be.
On Wednesday morning, he was returning home from his extra classes when he was run over by a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus that ran amok in northwest Delhi’s Azadpur area killing two and injuring three people.
“We were to meet and plan where to go for a friend’s birthday but now we do not think there will be any celebration. It is impossible to digest that he is no more,” one of Rawal’s friends said.
Another friend said that Rawal had promised to play badminton on Wednesday evening after he returned from school. “That game will never happen now.”
“We cannot believe what happened. He was supposed to be home at this hour. And now, his body will come after the post-mortem,” Raju, Rawal’s uncle said, his eyes welling up with tears. “Who knew he would not come back when he left home for his classes this morning,” he added.
Rawal , who was to appear for Class 10 board exams this year, was one of the passengers sitting on the rear seat of the e-rickshaw that was hit by the DTC bus first. While the driver could save himself and escaped with minor injuries, Rawal was crushed as he could not react in time. According to the police, the e-rickshaw driver was taking a turn on the wrong carriageway when it was hit by the bus.
“The bus was completely out of control. We suspect that its tyre burst and the driver could not control it. After it hit the e-rickshaw and the auto, the driver fled. It is the locals who helped pull out people from under the bus’s front wheel. Rawal died on the spot,” a senior police officer said.
Speaking to HT, Shah Rukh, the e-rickshaw driver said, “I saw the bus coming closer when I was taking money from a passenger. I thought the driver will apply the brake but I soon realised that the bus has gone out of control. I shouted and asked the passengers to get down but the child who was sitting on the back did not react. He was crushed under the front wheels of the bus.”
Rawal is survived by his parents and two siblings-a sister who is married and an elder brother. His father runs a business of electronic toys.
Devender (40), a resident of Nangloi, later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. He worked as a contract employee with the Delhi government and is survived by his wife and children.
