15‑month‑old baby run over by car after slipping from mother’s lap

Tirunelveli: A 15-month-old toddler girl who slipped from her mother’s lap while they were riding pillion on a two-wheeler, died after she was run over by a car in Melapalayam in Tirunelveli on Thursday.Police sources said that the couple Sheik Mohideen and Nainammal Beevi of Pathamadai have two girl children: 15-month-old toddler Rahima and a girl of age six.On Thursday, the couple were on their way to Tirunelveli from Pathamadai for the baby’s vaccination on Ambasamudram Road. Rahima sat on her mother’s lap.The road was in a bad condition due to the underground drainage (UGD) project. When the couple reached Karungulam, while overtaking a car in front of them, the baby suddenly slipped from her mother’s lap and fell on the road.

The car crashed onto the baby’s head, causing a severe head injury that resulted in the baby’s immediate death.Outraged residents held a road blockade and a protest, demanding urgent infrastructure repairs, causing major traffic disruptions for a few minutes.Melapayalam police reached the spot and recovered the body and sent it to Tirunelveli Government Medical College Hospital for postmortem examination.A case was registered by the Melapalayam police. They arrested the car driver, Sundaraj, 27, of Melaseval. Further investigation is underway.