'Colonel's wife shouldn't be spared'

Family of auto driver killed in Saturday night's road accident demands speedy justice

The clamour for stringent punishment for causing death due to rash driving is set to get shriller.
Joining the issue is the family of Raj Kumar, 45, who was killed in an accident near Delhi Cantonment when an overspeeding Honda City hit his vehicle late on Saturday night.


Remains of the day:u00a0The family of auto driver Raj Kumar, (below)u00a0the
mangled remains of the auto rickshaw. PICs/IMTIYAZ KHAN

"Who will take care of us now?" asked 14-year-old Ruby, eldest of the five daughters of Raj Kumar.
"My father was the sole bread earner of the family, which includes my four sisters, my mother and grand parents. He also used to take care of my uncle Ombir's family as he is bed-ridden with paralysis," she said.

"Just because the accused is the wife of a rich Army colonel, she got away easily. What about us? She should be held accountable for our problems and be given a befitting punishment," the teenager said, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Raj Kumar's family lives in a two-room house in the Sevak Nagar area of west Delhi's Uttam Nagar. The 45-year-old auto rickshaw driver used to earn Rs 400-500 and had to support 13 people including his family and dependents.

Recounting his brother's "impeccable record" on the road, Ombir Singh - who has paralysis in his lower limbs -ridiculed the easy bail that was given to Nivedita, 31, after she hit Raj Kumar's auto head-on near Gopinath market in the cantonment area. She was in an inebriated state when the accident took place.

"My brother had been an auto driver for the past 23 years and was never involved in any accident. It is ironical that a woman overspeeding under the influence of alcohol killed him. She should be given the maximum possible punishment," Singh said.

Raj Kumar's neighbours are also in a state of shock. They remembered him as a hard-working man who never used to meddle in other's affairs.

"Raj Kumar was very diligent and used to work from 9 in the evening till midnight to meet the expenses of the entire family that included food, clothes and education for all the children. His mother was suffering from cataract and he was arranging money for her operation," said Rasool Khan, a neighbour of Raj Kumar.