Horrific experience of a shopkeeper who thought victim was his own son

BHOPAL: Ram Naresh Mishra, (40), who runs a milk parlour at Purana Mata Mandir trisection in TT Nagar had the shock of his life on Tuesday morning when he spotted a student carrying a backpack lying in a pool of blood near his shop.
Mishra was terrified and he thought the injured student to be his 17-year-old son and immediately stopped an auto to rush him to JP Hospital.The injured was provided primary treatment and referred to Hamidia hospital.
After the youth was declared brought dead at Hamidia hospital and the body sent to the mortuary, Mishra was told to check the deceased student’s clothes and bag for his belongings. When he took out the student’s Aadhaar card from the backpack and was checking it, two of his sons reached the spot. He found that the deceased student was not his son. Instead, he was a Vidisha-based 21-year-old IIIT student.
Mishra told TOI even when he found that the deceased student was not his son, he could not control his feelings and burst into tears. He was heavy hearted the whole day and could not get out of the shock.
Mishra, a resident of South TT Nagar, has two sons Mohit, (21), who is a graduate and Mayank, (17), who is a Class 12 student.
Mishra told TOI, “I was at my shop around 8.30am when a speeding car rammed into a student and then hit a handcart. The errant driver in a bid to speed away, lost control on his car and crashed with a tin shed put up by Smart City officials across the road.”
Recalling his horrific experience, Mishra said, “I rushed to the spot and found a youth lying in a pool of blood. His height along with the clothes and shoes he wore matched with my son Mayank. I was shocked and did not know what to do. I left my shop open, stopped an autorickshaw immediately and rushed the injured to JP Hospital. I completed all the formalities at the hospital, but did not have the courage to see his bleeding face,” he said with a heavy voice.
Mishra said, “The doctors at the hospital provided primary treatment to the injured youth and then referred him to Hamidia hospital as his condition became critical. I accompanied him in the ambulance and reached Hamidia hospital emergency ward. I nearly had a heart attack when the doctors declared him brought dead and sent his body to the mortuary.”
“I went to the mortuary. The hospital staff asked me to check the clothes of the deceased for his belongings. I started checking his backpack with a heavy heart and found an Aadhaar card. While I was checking the card, my sons Mohit and Mayank reached the spot. I was spellbound on spotting Mayank alive and burst into tears”, Mishra added
Mishra said, “The cops then arrived at the spot and found that the deceased was a student of IIIT from Vidisha. I was still in a state of shock and returned home. I could not have food the whole day and even now I am feeling the pain. The deceased is not my son, but I can understand what his parents must be going through.”
Mishra said that the construction workers have left a big stone slab on the side of the road. The road has been narrowed down due to the Smart City construction work and there is no space left for pedestrians. Had the big stone slab was removed earlier, the student may have survived the accident, he said.