Two-year-old dies in hit-and-run in Noida

Noida: A two-year-old boy died in a suspected hit-and-run accident in Sector 24 in Noida on Saturday, police said, adding that some locals managed to find the registration number of the suspected vehicle.

On Sunday afternoon, family members of the victim and local residents protested with his body in front of Sector 51, demanding the arrest and strict action against the unidentified driver.

The police have formed three teams to catch the suspect.

“The deceased was identified as Abhi Gupta, a resident of Hoshiyarpur in Sector 51. His father Ankit Gupta works as a daily wage labourer,” said Station House Officer (Sector 24) Dhruv Bhushan Dubey.

“On Saturday around 3 pm, Abhi was asked to go to a nearby grocery store to buy a packet of biscuits. When the toddler was on the road, he was hit from behind by a speeding car,” the officer said, adding that the suspected driver had already fled when locals rushed to rescue the child.

The boy was taken to a nearby hospital where he died during treatment, the SHO said.

After the boy’s body was handed over to the family following a post-mortem at the Sector 94 morgue, his neighbours and relatives dumped it on the main road of Sector 51. They accused the police of negligence and demanded the arrest of the suspected driver.

“The family members of the deceased have been counselled and three teams have been formed to nab the accused,” Noida Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Manish Kumar Mishra said, adding that a case under Section 304 A (culpable homicide) of the IPC is pending against the unidentified accused at Sector 24 police station and efforts are on to nab him.

In another incident, a 30-year-old ice cream vendor was critically injured when his car was allegedly hit by a speeding car (Swift) while he was returning home from selling ice cream in Noida’s Sector 24 late on Saturday night, police said.

“The injured person has been identified as Golu Kumar, originally from Bihar and a resident of Morna locality in Sector 35,” SHO Shrivastava said, adding that the incident took place around 1.30 am on Sunday when the ice-cream vendor was on his way home and a speeding car rammed the handcart near Hoshiyarpur junction.

However, local residents managed to catch the suspect, identified as Vishal Yadav.

The injured Kumar was taken to a nearby hospital where he is being treated. His condition is said to be critical, police said.

A case of reckless driving under sections 279 (reckless driving) and 336 (endangering human life) of the Indian Penal Code has been booked against the suspect and further investigation is underway, they added.