Their hurry to reach the exam centre on time proved costly for seven students of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) on Monday. Three of them lost their lives while four others were battling for life in ICU when a Honda City car, in which they were travelling to appear for semester exam, skid and toppled from the Punjabi Bagh flyover.
The deceased have been identified as Sanchit Chhabra, Ritu and Rajat. While Chhabra and Ritu died on the spot, Rajat later succumbed to injuries. The injured — Pranav Malik, Garima Gupta, Rishab Mawi and Raja Rastogi — are undergoing treatment at the AIIMS Trauma Centre. They are said to be in critical condition.
The students, all in the age group of 20-22, are the first year BBA students of the Delhi Institute of Professional Studies, based in Rohini. On Monday, they all were supposed to give their Business Organisation paper at the examination centre in Narela.
They were heading towards Narela when their car lost control, hit the railing of the flyover and fell down from the 40-feet railing onto the railway tracks.
According to police, either over-speeding or tyre puncture might have caused the deadly mishap. “We have sent a team of Forensic Science laboratory to the spot to ascertain the cause of the accident,” said a senior police officer. “We are also probing whether Rajat, who was behind the wheel, had a driving licence,” he added.
Vijay Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), said, “We received a PCR call around 8.45 am about the accident near the Punjabi Bagh-Madipur flyover. Following which our team reached the spot.”
Aashiq, an eyewitness, said, “I heard a crash sound and the next moment I saw a car lying upside down near the railway tracks. Many people were lying trapped in the mangled car. locals gathered and one of them made a PCR call after which a PCR van rushed all the injured to a nearby hospital. The police reached on time but due to the delay on the part of the ambulance, it took a lot of time to take the injured to hospital.”
Friends and relatives of the injured students, who gathered outside the Emergency ward at the AIIMS Trauma centre on Monday afternoon pointed out that it was not the first time that Rajat had an accident. “A few months ago, Rajat had rammed into a car,” said Rashi, a classmate of the seven students.
Rashi told The Pioneer, “Few minutes before they all assembled at East Punjabi Bagh at Rajat’s house, Garima had called me to inform that she could not book a cab so she is coming with Rajat and others. How I wish Garima had not changed her plan at the last moment.”
Garima’s brother Pradeep Gupta, a resident of Inderpuri area, said, “Garima studied till late night. In the morning, she left for Shadipur from where Rajat was to pick her up.”
The father of Raja Rastogi, who recuperating at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, said, “So far we got to know that there was a tyre puncture and that the Rajat was speeding. They all were supposed to reach the centre by 9:30 am.”
Meanwhile, police said that they have registered a case under Sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 A (causing death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code at the Punjabi Bagh police station.