A Bhopal family’s birthday celebration in Goa ended in tragedy after their car was hit by an alleged over-speeding SUV. A 65-year-old man died, his wife is critical, and other members were injured. The family is seeking justice.
A family from Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal that had travelled to Goa to celebrate a birthday met with a tragic road accident, resulting in the death of a 65-year-old man and leaving his wife critically injured and some other family members also sustained injuries in the incident.
The family claimed that an over-speeding Thar SUV caused the collision with their car in which they were travelling in and sought strict action against the accused in the matter.
According to the family members, the deceased has been identified as 65-year-old Bhagat Ram Sharma, a resident of Bhopal. A total of five people of the family were travelling in a car at the time of the accident. Sharma was seated on the rear side along with his wife and son, while his son-in-law, Tushar Uniyal, was driving the vehicle and his daughter Ruchika was seated beside him. The family’s three-month-old infant was also in the car and is completely safe.
Son-in-law recounts the horror
Speaking to ANI, Tushar Uniyal said that the incident occurred on Monday, February 23 at around 5 pm when they were on their way back to the hotel. The accident occurred near a junction close to Happy Bar, where the road is quite narrow. “Generally, people drive in Goa at around 40-50 kmph as it is a crowded place. We were going to our hotel and slowed down our car as soon as we reached near the junction to see whether any other vehicle was passing or not. But an overspeeding SUV vehicle at a speed of around 80-90 kmph hit us. For a few seconds, we did not even understand what had happened. We were in complete trauma. When we came out of the car, we saw the accused, Shaurya Goyal, speaking on the phone with his father, saying that an accident had occurred in a casual manner,” Uniyal said.
He further said that by the time they realised the gravity of the situation, significant damage had already been done. The accused was talking on the phone and appeared as if nothing had happened to him.
‘Will my wife ever forget this day?’
“I was driving the car, my wife was sitting beside me, my father-in-law, mother-in-law, my 3-month-old baby and brother-in-law were sitting on the rear side of the car. We had not specially planned for the Goa trip, but had gone to Goa to celebrate my wife’s birthday, which is in fact today. We just wanted to relax there. My father-in-law had never travelled outside Bhopal before. I had taken him there on my responsibility. He was very happy to be there, but today we are bringing him back in a coffin. Will my wife ever forget this day?” said Uniyal with tears in his eyes.
He further added, “Father-in-law could not survive in the accident and mother-in-law is in critical state with multiple fractures, is being transported by ambulance as she cannot be airlifted due to her condition. Even the ambulance cannot go above 30 kmph because of her injuries.”
‘We have lost the heart of the family’
The family said that justice should be served to them and the accused should be punished. “There were speed-breakers, if the accused would have applied brakes on the speed-breaker, the accident would not have happened. They might be on their fun trip but our family has been destroyed. My mother-in-law has become bedridden, father-in-law in no more, brother-in-law sustained shoulder injuries, wife has injuries in her hand and luckily my 3-month-old daughter is untouched in the incident,” Uniyal said.
“Last words of my father was No one knows how much time they have, so cherish the moments you get. Hardly a minute later, that car came and crashed into us, and this incident happened. We have lost the heart of the family…We want justice to be served and this is all we expect and nothing else,” the kin said.
‘Human life is cheap for them’: Daughter recounts incident
On the other hand, the daughter of the deceased, Ruchika said, “The accused hit us and was acting normal. He was talking to his father who was trying to save him. His mother was making unnecessary statements about my father’s death. What type of family is this? How could they learn about humanity? Human life is cheap for them. Even our FIR was not lodged on time.”
“I have injuries in my shoulder and pain in my abdomen as well. I could not even lift my daughter in my arms. How will the fear and trauma of this incident come out inside me? My mother is bedridden. I want the accused to be punished and should realise what life is and how it feels once taken away. The accused had no regret of the accident and I want the accused to be given strict punishment” She added.
Family thanks Goa locals for support
Additionally, the family also thanked the people of Goa for the support and the cooperation during the whole incident, stressing the people were very supportive and offered every possible assistance required. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)