New Delhi: A seven-year-old girl died while 17 other children and a driver were injured, after the van they were travelling in was hit by a milk tanker in north west Delhi's Kanhaiya Nagar on Thursday.
Police claimed to have arrested the driver of the tanker, adding that the deceased girl was identified as Garima, a class II who was living with her parents in Kanhaiya Nagar JJ colony area.
They added that a case has been registered and the accused truck driver has been arrested.
"On Thursday, the regular driver was absent and there was a new driver. We heard that he was wearing handsfree earphone while driving," said Sunny, a relative of Garima.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North West) Aslam Khan said the van, which was carrying 18 children, was hit by the overspeeding tanker.
The children were rushed to the hospital, where Garima, who received severe head injuries, was declared brought dead. All the children are residents of the Kanhaiya Nagar JJ colony and students of two different schools located nearby their home.
Deepanshu, an eyewitness present at the spot, told Millennium Post that the van was trying to take a U-turn when it was hit by the truck. The impact was such that the van toppled over thrice and some children fell out of the van.
"The van door was ripped away after it was hit by the truck. One of the girls fell down in an autorickshaw and another child fell under a stationary car," said Deepanshu.
Seeing them crying for help, two auto drivers and some passersby rushed out of their vehicles to rescue the children.
Soon, Delhi Police personnel reached the spot and made sure that all the children reached hospital in time.
"One of the children's leg was trapped inside the seat of the cab. All the children were crying and even the van driver received injuries," said eyewitnesses.
The accused truck driver Sanjeev (34) immediately fled the spot, but was detained by police later in the day.
Soon after the incident, several protesters gathered at Kanhaiya Nagar demanding strict action against the accused.
Meanwhile, a team of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights visited one of the hospitals where three of the children are reportedly critical. The team also sent letters to concerned departments of Delhi government and Delhi Police regarding the case.