New Delhi: A collision in Dwarka that killed a 23-year-old man did not shatter just one family. As a mother mourns her son, a cab driver whose parked vehicle was struck by the same SUV is fighting his own battle against painful injuries, mounting bills and months without a livelihood.
On February 3, Ajit Singh had just dropped off a passenger and parked near Lal Bahadur Shastri College to have food when at 11:57 am a Scorpio allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy collided head-on with a motorcycle, killing Sahil Dhaneshra (23) on the spot.
The SUV then crashed into Singh’s stationary taxi, leaving him seriously injured.
“I had just dropped a passenger and parked my car to eat food. The moment I opened my tiffin box, I heard a loud tyre-skidding noise. I checked my side mirror and saw a motorcycle being dragged under the SUV,” Singh told PTI.
Singh said the vehicle appeared to be moving at a very high speed.
“The SUV was overspeeding and within moments, it collided with my car. I had no time to react. Everything happened in a flash,” he said.
He said that he only remember that some people helped him come out of the car. They stopped an e-rickshaw and took him to a nearby hospital.
Singh said he suffered multiple injuries to his head, ribs, spine, hands, and legs — wounds that have left him in constant pain and confined to his bed.
Doctors have ordered complete bed rest for three to four months, a period meant for healing his wounds but also threatens his family’s survival.
For a cab driver, who is the sole breadwinner of his family and earns just Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 a month, the doctors’ advice has brought crushing anxiety instead of relief. Each passing day without work means another day without income.
“I am the sole breadwinner of my family. Now doctors have asked me to take rest for three to four months. How will I manage the cost of food, medicines, house rent and other daily expenses?” he asked.
Singh said he has been working as a cab driver since 2004 and lives in a village near Dwarka Sector 19. Driving, he said, is the only source of livelihood he has known for the past 22 years.
Singh also expressed doubts about whether he would receive justice.
“Ameero ke liye sir, par gareebon ke liye ‘sar-dard’. Mujhe kya hi nayaye milega, jab us bacche ki maa khud hi abhi tak lad rahi hai. (for the rich, this may just be a minor inconvenience, but for the poor, it becomes a crushing burden. How will I get justice when even the mother of the boy who died is still fighting for justice till now),” he said.
Singh said while he is battling physical pain, he is equally disturbed by the loss suffered by the victim’s family.
“I want justice for the mother who lost her young son and justice for myself as well. We are ordinary people. But justice is one thing that everyone deserves,” he added.
As Singh struggles to sit upright without assistance and counts the days of forced rest ahead, he said the crash has altered his life in ways he never imagined.
He said, “I stepped out that morning to earn for my family. I never thought I would return home with broken bones and no certainty about tomorrow.”
According to police, the 17-year-old driver initially claimed he was 19, but document verification revealed that he was a minor. He was apprehended and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and later granted interim bail as he is a Class 10 student appearing in his examinations.
A case under sections 281 (rash driving), 106(1) (causing death by negligence) and 125(a) (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at the Dwarka South police station.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Saleha Fatima | 
