A 10-year-old girl lost her life, and her 6-year-old brother sustained injuries after a cement mixer collided with a two-wheeler in the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) area on Wednesday evening. The children were being transported home by an auto-rickshaw driver, who, instead of using his rickshaw as assigned, chose to bring them on a two-wheeler. Following the incident, the BKC police registered a case of negligence against both the cement mixer driver and the rickshaw driver.
The deceased, Shifa Sheikh, was a Class 4 student at Durello Convent Girls High School, while her younger brother, Umar Sheikh, is in Class 2 at St. Tereza School. Their family had entrusted Jafar Pathan, an auto-rickshaw driver, with the responsibility of dropping and picking them up from school. However, Pathan used his two-wheeler to bring the children home, leading to the accident. He later informed the family that both children were seriously injured.
Upon receiving the news, the Sheikh family rushed to Lokmanya Tilak Hospital in Sion, where doctors declared Shifa brought dead. Umar sustained minor injuries and is undergoing treatment.
The accident took place at Platina Junction on the Kurla road in BKC. The cement mixer, coming from the right, rammed into Pathan's two-wheeler, causing both children to fall. Shifa came under the wheels of the mixer, suffering severe head and arm injuries. She succumbed to her injuries before reaching the hospital. Umar escaped with minor injuries, according to the police.
Shifa's father, Sohail Sheikh, has filed a complaint against both the cement mixer driver, Altaf Farooq Ahmed, and rickshaw driver, Jafar Pathan. Police have registered a case of negligence against both. The family alleges that Pathan violated their trust by using a two-wheeler instead of a rickshaw without informing them, which led to the fatal accident.
Further investigations are underway.