Army truck crushes 8-yr-old girl

NEW DELHI: An eight-year-old girl, waiting outside the temple after offering prayers, was crushed by a speeding army truck in West Patel Nagar area of west Delhi late on Tuesday night.
The victim, Mamta, was leaning against the car in front of the temple when a speeding truck taking a turn first hit a stationary car and then mowed her, said the police.
A case of death due to rash and negligent driving has been registered at Patel Nagar police station. The victim's mother has alleged that the police registered a case only after locals protested against the incident.
According to the police, the incident happened at around 9 pm when several devotees had gathered to offer Tuesday prayers. The truck coming from Uttam Nagar took a sharp turn and first hit a stationary car. Mamta first fell down due to impact of this collision and since the driver did not apply brakes in time, the truck ran over the little girl.
Passersby intercepted the truck, which was trying to flee from the spot, and apprehended the driver. The police was also called in and the driver arrested.
The victim's sister and others took Mamta to Deen Dayal Upadhayay Hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead. A post-mortem was conducted on Wednesday and body was handed over to the family.
Agitated residents of the area who protested after the accident on Tuesday night alleged that army trucks frequently pass by the area, and despite several complaints against vehicles plying at high speed, there has been no action so far. Additional forces had to be called in to control the crowd which had gathered after the accident.
Radhey Kisan, the priest of the Kali Mandir who is also an eyewitness to the accident, said the driver was driving at high speed and did not stop even after hitting the girl.
DCP, (central), Jaspal Singh said, "We have already written to the military police about the accident. The military will handle it according to their procedures. This is an army area so the case has been given to them.''
The victim's mother, Shakuntala Devi, said, "The killer army truck took away my daughter. Even after the accident, her body kept lying on the road, but police didn't take any action. It was only when many people in the area started protesting that the police arrested the driver. Even then, the police kept lobbying for the army people and registered a case only when we insisted.''
The victim was a student of class I in a government school in West Patel Nagar. Her father is a rickshaw-puller, the police added.