Delhi dumper-auto collision Injured husband taken back to hospital after performing wife’s last rites

New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) A man injured in the Sonia Vihar accident was overcome with grief and his condition deteriorated after he was brought from hospital to perform the last rites of his pregnant wife, who was killed in the crash, while a six-month-old girl injured in the incident has started suffering epileptic seizures following a head injury, the victims’ families said on Saturday.

     Raja (32), who is undergoing treatment for serious injuries, was initially not informed about the death of his wife Rakhi (26), who was seven months pregnant and suffered a miscarriage in the accident.

     His family informed him about her death on Saturday after her body was handed over following a post-mortem examination.

     He was brought from the hospital to perform her last rites. However, after learning that he had lost his wife and unborn child, Raja went into deep shock and his health deteriorated further, his family members said.

     Rakhi’s sister-in-law Rajni said the atmosphere at their home in Chauhan Patti turned sombre after her body was handed over to the family.

     As part of a traditional ritual, a symbolic effigy of the unborn child was made using flour and cremated along with Rakhi, she said.

     Despite his serious injuries, Raja performed his wife’s last rites with trembling hands. His condition worsened after the cremation and he was being taken back to the hospital, his family members said.

     The last rites of Rakhi and another victim, Satbir (32), were performed at their native places on Saturday, while Pramod, the third victim, was cremated on Friday, with his six-year-old son performing the last rites.

     The condition of six-month-old Kanika, daughter of Satbir, has also raised concerns. Her maternal uncle Dharmveer Singh said the infant suffered a skull fracture in the accident and has started experiencing epileptic seizures following the head injury.

     Her condition deteriorated on Thursday night, following which the family rushed her to the paediatric ward and later the emergency department of GTB Hospital. She was administered injections and put on a drip, after which her condition stabilised, he said.

     Satbir’s wife Moni, who was also injured in the accident, is unable to walk due to serious injuries to her legs. She also suffered broken teeth and injuries to her lips and around her eyes, Dharmveer said.

     The family had to take Moni and her injured daughter nearly 250 km to their native village Bahora near Patiali in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj district for Satbir’s last rites, even as their treatment was underway.

     Doctors prescribed medicines for seven days before they left, he said. Satbir’s younger brother Lal Singh performed the last rites, he added.

     A speeding dumper truck rammed into an overcrowded autorickshaw carrying eight people near Pushta No. 5 in northeast Delhi’s Sonia Vihar around 5 am on Thursday.

     The accident claimed the lives of two men, Satbir and Pramod, and a six-month-pregnant woman, Rakhi, who died during treatment on Friday. Her unborn child also died following a miscarriage. Several others were injured, including Rakhi’s husband Raja, Satbir’s wife Moni, their six-month-old daughter Kanika and another passenger, Rameshwar Dayal.

     The dumper driver fled the spot and remains untraced, the victims’ families alleged..

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)