Mumbai:
On November 27, everything changed for two families living in Tulsiwadi in the Tardeo area of Mumbai.
52-year-old Prakash Parmar and 56-year-old Laxmiben Makwana, both BMC employees, were killed on Mumbai's upscale Peddar Road by a drunk driver. They were on their way to work when their two-wheeler came under the wheels of a speeding car.
Jignasha Parmar, Prakash's daughter, told NDTV, "Actually our father was following his daily routine that morning when suddenly a car came and rammed into him from behind."
His son-in-law said, "Obviously anyone would be angry because that person doesn't know who he has killed. But, those who are in our family, those people who are connected to our family, they know. Laxmi Ben also had children, may be they considered her equal to God. We are not only angry with the accused but also the police."
The families are shattered while the accused, businessman Akshay Bajaj, is out on bail.
He has been charged for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The police say they managed to arrest the accused but he secured a bail from court.
Makwana and Parmar were the breadwinners for their families who now stare at an uncertain future.
NDTV repeatedly tried to contact Akshay Bajaj but he did not respond. A security guard at his home told this correspondent that he was not home.
As Akshay goes about his business, these two names will probably be added to the 600 people who die on Mumbai killer roads due to rash driving.
As Rohini Parmar, a relative of Prakash, puts it, the poor will have to fend for themselves.
"What is it to these rich people? They cause accidents and just flee. So many people are now without support but of course any of this won't matter to him. The poor will have to fend for themselves," she says, the bitterness clear in her voice.