Tuesday, Apr 16 2013 

Traffic camera captures family’s anguish as mother and baby daughter ‘bleed to death on Indian road as callous motorists drive past for 40 minutes’

  • Family of four were on the same motorbike when they were hit by a lorry
  • Desperate pleas for passing drivers to help were ignored for 40 minutes
  • Shocking tragedy struck on section of road where bikes are banned

By Sudhanshu Mishra

PUBLISHED: 15:33 EST, 15 April 2013 |

A mother and baby daughter bled to death on the road while motorists sped past them, ignoring the desperate cries for help of the victim’s husband and their four-year-old son.

The family was travelling on a motorbike in Jaipur‘s newly constructed tunnel, Ghat-ki-Guni, where two-wheelers are banned, when a speeding truck hit them, killing Guddi Raigher, 26, and her eight-month-old daughter Arushi.

Her husband Kanhaiya and son Tanish, both of whom suffered minor injuries, spent the next 40 minutes desperately trying to flag down passing motorists for help.

Scroll down for video – WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

Desperation: Kanhaiyalal Raigher and his young son try to flag down passing motorists as his wife and young daughter bleed to deathDesperation: Kanhaiyalal Raigher and his young son try to flag down passing motorists as his wife and young daughter bleed to death

Not a single motorist stopped to help Kanhaiya, who kept running to each and every vehicle passing the accident spot where his wife and daughter lay in a pool of blood.

He fainted near the bodies after running around for more than half-an-hour.

 Finally, some motorcyclists stopped to lift him and informed his relatives and the police.

This, too, was possible only after coming out of the tunnel as there is no mobile connectivity inside.

Horror: A CCTV camera captures Kanhaiya consoling his distraught son as vehicles pass by the scene of the accident without providing help for nearly 40 minutesHorror: A CCTV camera captures Kanhaiya consoling his distraught son as vehicles pass by the scene of the accident without providing help for nearly 40 minutes

Desperation: Kanhaiya Raigher and his young son attempt to flag down passing motorists after the motorbike they were travelling on was hit by a truck, killing two other members of their familyDesperation: Kanhaiya Raigher and his young son attempt to flag down passing motorists after the motorbike they were travelling on was hit by a truck, killing two other members of their family

Carnage: Motorists swerve around the fatally injured mother and daughter instead of stopping to helpCarnage: Motorists swerve around the fatally injured mother and daughter instead of stopping to help

But by then, 40 valuable minutes had passed without any assistance coming his way.

The ban on two-wheelers has not yet been enforced in the tunnel as a tug-of-war is going on between the traffic police and the private company responsible for its maintenance over who would deploy personnel to implement the rule.

The Ashok Gehlot government had shown unusual eagerness in getting the 2.8km tunnel inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on January 19, during the Congress party’s Chintan Shivir.

Devastating: The couple's son, pictured with relatives, sustained head injuriesDevastating: The couple’s son, pictured with relatives, sustained head injuries

The hurry was such that artificial trees and plants worth Rs 1.25 lakh were fixed with cement at the tunnel’s entrance to give it a green look.

The tunnel, on the outskirts of Jaipur, is on NH-11. Ever since the tunnel was thrown open to public, the Jaipur traffic police and Rohan Rajdeep Rajasthan Infrastructure Limited (RRRIL), the company entrusted with its maintenance, have been evading the responsibility of implementing the ban on two-wheelers.

Tragedy: Distraught father and grieving husband Kanhaiya pictured left, with a bandage around a hand wounded in the crash watched his wife and daughter bleed to deathTragedy: Distraught father and grieving husband Kanhaiya pictured left, with a bandage around a hand wounded in the crash watched his wife and daughter bleed to death

The traffic police maintain that it is the company’s responsibility, while the RRRIL claims that it had installed the warning boards restricting two-wheelers, but it does not have the authority to penalise the defaulters.

As a result of this dispute, two-wheeler riders have been flouting the ban, using the tunnel to reach their destinations. Kanhaiya’s ordeal was caught on the CCTV camera installed inside the tunnel.

Police rushed the family to hospital, where Guddi and Arushi were declared dead on arrival and Kanhaiya and Tanish were discharged after first aid.

Police tracked the truck’s registration number from the CCTV cameras installed in the tunnel and a hunt has been launched to catch the driver.

 

Passersby ignore accident victim in Jaipur street