A 21-year-old ragpicker and her two-year-old daughter were crushed under the wheels of a truck near Ludhiana Railway Station in the early hours of Monday.
The driver was taken into custody after bystanders allegedly stopped him when he tried to flee from the spot, police said.
She was carrying her daughter in her lap at the time of the accident. Both died on the spot. The driver allegedly tried to flee with the vehicle after the accident but locals intercepted him and informed the police. In the first incident, Aarti Devi was crushed to death after falling from a motorcycle on Metro Road. A trailer wheel then ran over her, killing her on the spot. Naveen sustained serious injuries and died while being taken to hospital. Police have registered a case and are investigating the motorcyclist’s role.
Baby was collecting empty bottles by the roadside when the truck hit her around 6.30 am, according to police. In another incident, 30-year-old Naveen Kumar was killed near a primary school in Mundian Kalan.
A speeding truck driven by Daljit Singh allegedly hit the motorcycle, throwing Aarti onto the road, according to police. Naveen was passing through the area when a motorcyclist allegedly riding at high speed and in a negligent manner rammed into him, according to a statement by his brother.
The victims have been identified as Baby Kumari Yadav and her daughter, whose name could not be ascertained. The family are migrants and have been living in a shanty near the Amar Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Inter-State Bus Terminal. She would wake up early to collect discarded items before municipal sanitation workers cleared the roads.
Baby used to collect empty bottles, polythene bags and cardboard from roadsides and sell them to scrap dealers to support the family, according to the victim’s family.
Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the circumstances leading to the accident. The truck driver allegedly fled the scene with the vehicle.
