- The minor driver was a 12th-standard student who took his father's car without permission
- Police filed FIRs against both the minor driver and his father for negligence in the incident
- A police crackdown on underage driving seized a vehicle linked to BJP leader Nirmal Kataria's family
A tragic incident in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam has sparked both sorrow and outrage, as CCTV footage surfaced showing a two-year-old boy, Rishik Tiwari, being crushed to death by a car allegedly driven by a 16-year-old minor.
The heart-wrenching footage captures the moment Rishik, who had just been playing outside after slipping from his grandmother's arms, ran into the street and was run over by a slowly approaching car. Rishik had just been placed gently on the ground by his grandmother, who stepped aside momentarily to place a puja thali.
In that fleeting moment, little Rishik wandered outside his home in Ratlam's Alkapuri locality. Seconds later, a car driven by a 16-year-old boy, a teenager who should never have been behind the wheel struck the child, dragging him under its tyres.
The CCTV footage of this horrifying moment has now surfaced, showing the panic, the helpless screams of his grandmother, and the sheer brutality of the impact.
The car was being driven by a 12th-standard student living in a rented house nearby. His father, Surendra Pratap Rathore, had come to visit him from the village. The son asked for the car keys for a short ride, and in that simple act of negligence, a family lost their child forever. Police immediately filed an FIR against both the minor and his father.
Speaking to NDTV, Ratlam SP Amit Kumar confirmed that the accident is being treated with full seriousness. "This is a very sad incident. A minor was driving his father's vehicle, leading to the tragic death of a one-and-a-half-year-old child. FIRs have been filed against both the minor and his father. The law will take its course. No one is above it," he said.
Soon after the incident police launched a crackdown on underage driving in the city. However, what followed next has triggered even greater public outrage. As part of the crackdown, police seized a vehicle linked to BJP District General Secretary Nirmal Kataria's family, reportedly being driven by another underage boy.
Enraged by the action, Kataria arrived at the police station and was captured on video berating and threatening the Station House Officer, Gayatri Soni, a senior woman officer. In the footage, Kataria is seen shouting aggressively, pointing fingers at the officer, who was trying to reason with the leader, remained calm and composed.
