Woman dies three days after accident in blind spot of surveillance camera near Chandigarh’s PGI

Three days after a 62-year-old heart patient died in a road accident near PGI, his wife also succumbed to the injuries she sustained in the accident on Wednesday evening.

The dead were identified as Lekhraj Chawla and his 60-year-old wife Naresh Kumari. The couple were returning home after buying medicines on Sunday evening when the accident occurred.

The accident occurred outside the range of CCTV cameras, so police had to rely on eyewitness accounts. A case under Section 304-A (culpable homicide) has been filed against the unidentified accused. However, police said the scooter might have started skidding on its own when Lekhraj collapsed.

According to Kanwardeep Kaur, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), several passers-by only saw victims lying on the road, which suggests that it was not a hit-and-run.

“The scooter had no dent and we were able to confirm the incident from passing vehicles. It seems that the victim, a heart patient, collapsed, causing the scooter to lose balance and fall over,” Kaur said.

Son calls for further investigation

However, the couple’s son Devinder Chawla, 30, who owns a fruit and vegetable shop in Sector 70, Mohali, claimed that the scooter was dragged for at least six metres and the victims fell some distance from the vehicle. He questioned how a scooter moving at 30-40 kmph could have such a brutal accident without any external force. He insists that it is a case of hit and run and urges the police to investigate further.

“My mother suffered a brain injury and several fractures while my father sustained injuries to his legs and hands, with a fatal head injury leading to his death on the spot. I have lost both my parents and am seeking justice from the police authorities,” he added.

Chawal said a caller informed him that an unknown vehicle had hit his parents’ scooter. The victims were taken to PGI for treatment, where Lekhraj was declared dead on arrival.