Delhi hit-and-run: 13-year-old boy dies after being run over by SUV twice in Vasant Kunj; family seeks justice

NEW DELHI: A 13-year-old boy on a cycle was allegedly run over twice by a Mahindra Thar in southwest Delhi's Vasant Kunj on Wednesday. Eyewitnesses claimed that the SUV driver, yet to be identified, first hit and crushed the child and then reversed over him before fleeing.

The boy was declared dead on arrival at hospital. The boy has been identified as Murshid, a student of Class VIII who lived in a jhuggi near the spot in Sector C. Police said he was hit from behind by the vehicle near a petrol pump. The impact also left the bicycle mangled. A case has been registered under sections 281 (rash or negligent driving) and 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Vasant Kunj North police station.

According to Murshid's family, he had gone out to buy snacks around 4.30pm when the incident took place close to Mehrauli-Mahipalpur Road, a few steps from his home. The petrol pump opposite the spot is surrounded by several bylanes cramped with jhuggis.Ganesh Mathur (45), who works at the petrol pump, said he heard a loud noise and saw a car speeding away. Murada, a 50-year-old vendor who sells boiled eggs nearby, said, "I heard kids screaming gala kat gaya, gala kat gaya (throat has been cut) and thought a snatching had taken place.

I ran to see the boy lying in a pool of blood, face down." Mahesh Chand (50), who works as a guard in an adjacent residential colony, said, "I heard that a boy had been run over. We found out that the car had run over Murshid twice." A friend of Murshid added that some boys ran behind the car to get its number.Murshid's 35-year-old mother, Johana, said she was at her jhuggi when two children came running and told her about the accident.

"His face and neck were soaked in blood," a distraught Johana recalled. The family took the boy to hospital in an auto with the help of neighbours. Clutching her son's blue T-shirt, Johana said, "We may live in a jhuggi, but his dreams were much bigger. He wanted to be an Army officer." Murshid's father had abandoned the family around a year ago and his mother had to stop working as a domestic help due to poor health. She suffers from frequent bouts of fever and extreme weakness due to blood sugar fluctuations, said Johana, who belongs to Araria district in Bihar.The family owns a few jhuggis and earned Rs 5,000 every month by renting them out while Murshid often did odd jobs like helping out at local sweet shops and delivering groceries. "He would tend to me and massage my legs whenever my health got bad," Johana said. Remembering their last conversation, Tarana, the victim's 18-year-old elder sister, said, "He just returned after writing his Hindi paper. He wanted to eat samosas with me and stepped out to get some."

He borrowed the bicycle from a friend, "but never returned", rued the mother.Murshid's friends remembered him as a quiet boy who never engaged in arguments. "He was smart and kind," said Ajmeri, a 39-year-old neighbour. Tarana, who studies in Class X and dreams of becoming an IPS officer, alleged, "People were passing by and looking, even making videos, but no one came forward to help us." Johana, who moved into the house in 2001, said, "I got a lot in this house, but I also lost a lot here. All I want is justice to be able to survive."