Crane mows down 31-year-old woman, infant daughter to death in Ludhiana
A rashly-driven crane mowed down a 31-year-old woman and her infant daughter to death near Tibba Canal Bridge in Dehlon on Sunday evening, officials said.
They added that the deceased’s husband survived with minor injuries.
The victims, Reena from Benra village of Sangrur and her infant daughter, were returning home after celebrating ‘Bhai Dooj’ in Sahnewal at the time of the incident. Ravinder Kumar was injured in the incident.
The police registered a first-information report (FIR) on Monday against the crane driver, Nitish of Tibba Road, after the deceased’s family staged a protest.
Row erupts
The victims’ kin alleged the police were trying to hush up the matter after pressure from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Teji Sandhu.
State vice-president of BJP Kisan Morcha Teji Sandhu, however, said in a live on her Facebook account that the police ‘misused’ her name to save the culprits. She claimed that she talked to police officials and the sub-inspector concerned said there was some ‘misunderstanding’. Ravinder said they were returning home in the evening on a bike and as they reached near TIbba Canal Bridge, a speeding crane hit their bike.
He said they fell on the road after the impact. The complainant added that his wife and daughter fell in front of the crane and were crushed under the tyres. His daughter died on the spot and Reena was rushed to a private hospital, where she succumbed. After the incident, the crane driver escaped after leaving the vehicle behind, which was later confiscated by the police.
Ravinder alleged the police continued to delay the matter and did not register a case. He said sub-inspector Pardeep Kumar, who was investigating the matter, told him that he got a call from BJP leader Sandhu, asking him to refrain from taking action.
Ravinder said he contacted Sandhu through a farmer leader and she claimed that she unaware of the incident. She claimed that the police personnel are misusing her name to favour the accused.
Sandhu said she will raise the issue before the senior officials.
When contacted, sub-inspector Pardeep Kumar said he got a call from one of the victim’s relatives, requesting for a postmortem not to be conducted.
