Killer pothole: Grieving family recount sequence of events

In a tragic turn of events, a 45-year-old man was mowed to death by a speeding water tanker when his motorcycle got stuck in a big pothole in South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area on Saturday evening. Heading to his Sainik Enclave house in the Mohan Garden area in West Delhi, there was an atmosphere of celebration at Praveen’s house since it was Praveen’s wife, Rama Rani’s birthday on Sunday.

However, fate had other plans for Kumar’s wife and other family members after they received a call that he had an accident. Talking to Millennium Post, Praveen’s younger brother, Arvind said: “We got a call from Fortis Hospital that Praveen had an accident. When we rushed there, the doctors said that he was brought dead. His head was badly crushed and there were multiple fractures on his body.”

“Praveen worked as an accountant in a private company in Chattarpur. He had called his relatives to his second floor house for a simple dinner, in light of the ongoing Saawan season,” said his brother in law, Lalit. 

“The father of two daughters, one 16-year-old, Nikita and the other 12 year-old Kushmita, Kumar had big plans to give his daughter the best education. Praveen was the eldest among two brothers and three sisters. The son of a retired railways official, Virender Pratap (75), Kumar led a simple life,” said Lalit. 

Senior police officers of the South district revealed that the incident took place at around 7.15 pm near Square Mall when Praveen Kumar was riding home in his motorcycle from Chattarpur. While he was trying to get up, a speeding water tanker bearing a Haryana number plate (HR 55 J 5318) ran over him. Bystanders made the PCR call after which they rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead on admission. His body was sent for post-mortem at AIIMS mortuary after which it was handed over to Kumar’s family.”

Police said that after hitting Kumar, the driver of the tanker fled the spot, leaving behind his vehicle. A case under Sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304-A of the IPC has been registered at the Vasant Kunj police station.