E-rickshaw Accident Kills 8-Year-Old Girl In Delhi's Maujpur

An eight-year-old girl died after an e-rickshaw carrying students overturned in northeast Delhi's Maujpur area, police said on Thursday.

The incident took place around 7.30 am on Wednesday when the e-rickshaw first collided with a motorcycle and then overturned, they said, adding that the girl is a class 3 student of a private school.

"An information was received at Jafrabad Police Station from Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital regarding a schoolgirl who was declared dead," a senior police officer said.

He added that on reaching the hospital, the girl's father, a resident of Maujpur area, reported that his wife was taking their daughter to school in Shahdara. On the way, they took an e-rickshaw and before reaching Maujpur Chowk, it overturned, causing injuries to the girl.

CCTV footage of the incident shows the e-rickshaw moving at a high speed on a busy stretch in Maujpur before colliding with a motorcycle and overturning. In the video, the vehicle can be seen toppling to one side as passersby rush towards it in panic to rescue the passengers.

Many people from around the area came to lift the fallen e-rickshaw and also help the rider of the motorcycle which had also fallen. The e-rickshaw driver is then seen carrying the child along with the mother to the hospital.

The police said after dropping the victim at the hospital, he fled from there.

"Taking advantage of the situation, the e-rickshaw driver fled from the spot. CCTV is being reviewed to ascertain the identity of the accused and establish sequence of the event," the officer said.

A case under sections 281 (Rash driving or driving on a public way) and 106(1) (Causing death by negligence) of the BNS has been registered at Jafrabad Police Station.

Teams have been deployed to gather clues and arrest the absconding e-rickshaw driver. Further investigation is underway, the police said.

According to official figures, there are approximately 1.2 lakh registered e-rickshaws in the national capital. However, there are many plying on the road without valid registration causing congestion and safety hazards.

Meanwhile, an analysis of Delhi Traffic Police data showed that a total of 2,30,617 challans were issued to e-rickshaw drivers for various offences in the national capital between January 1 and June 15 for improper parking, violation of entry after restricted timings and licence-related offences, the officials told PTI.

The e-rickshaw drivers are often found driving recklessly and flouting traffic rules, they said.

“Around 1,260 registered e-rickshaws have been impounded by mid-June for various violations such as drunk driving, non-production of documents and other serious offences,” a senior officer said.

The maximum on-the-spot challans were issued for improper or obstructive parking, with 1,40,776 violations recorded by the traffic officials on the ground.

The second-most frequent offence was driving during ‘No Entry' hours, which resulted in 33,597 challans, followed by 13,962 challans for driving without a licence.

The traffic police challaned 7,286 e-rickshaw drivers for allowing unauthorised persons to operate their vehicles, while 4,657 challans were issued for obstructive or dangerous driving, which includes reckless movement, overloading or driving without proper attention to traffic norms.

There were 4,649 cases of e-rickshaws operating without valid insurance and 3,749 drivers were caught moving against the designated flow of traffic.

The other significant on-the-spot violations included 1,492 challans for driving without a fitness certificate and 1,190 for jumping red lights. Driving against the flow of traffic was the second-most common offence, with 997 challans being issued. PTI BM SSJ NB

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)