Two boys, aged 14 and 15, were killed in a motorcycle accident in east Delhi even as police faced a tough time reining in dangerous driving on Shab-e-Baraat.
Police said 773 on-the-spot challans were issued to traffic violators between 8 pm on Tuesday and 6 am on Wednesday. These included 517 riders without helmets and 161 people for triple riding.
Around 6,000 vehicles were also captured by cameras during this period for traffic violations and they will be issued notices to their homes.
In recent years, Shab-e-Baraat has seen young men riding dangerously through central Delhi on their motorcycles late at night after the prayers. This time too Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had issued a plea, asking them to desist from the practice.
This time, however, there were much fewer traffic violators out on the roads compared to previous years. As compared to about 850 vehicles impounded last year on Shab-e-Baraat, only 28 such vehicles were seized.
The traffic police claimed that there were “no accidents” reported during Shab-e-Baraat.
But police confirmed that the boys were returning from Jama Masjid after prayers. They were under-age, triple-riding and wearing no helmets.
They also said the boys, all school dropouts, took turns to ride the motorcycle even though none of them was a fluent rider.
The three relatives riding the motorcycle on Geeta Colony Flyover. The third rider, Abdul Ghalib, 16, escaped with injuries.
Ghalib, his brother Hayat, 14, and cousin Bittu, 15, had told their family on Tuesday night that they were headed to Jama Masjid to attend Shab-e-baraat.
“They did not tell them that they were going to ride a motorcycle. They borrowed a Hero Honda Passion from someone after they left their home,” an officer told Deccan Herald.
It was when they were going back home that the motorcycle apparently skidded on the flyover.
A slippery road due to rains, coupled with poor riding skills, is suspected to have led to the accident.
Police received a call from a passer-by at 4.50 am. The boys were rushed to hospital where doctors declared Hayat and Bittu brought dead. Ghalib is undergoing treatment for his injuries and his condition is stated to be out of danger. Police have not found any eyewitness.
Ghalib and Hayat lived with their parents in Geeta Colony’s Rani Garden.
Their cousin Bittu was a resident of northeast Delhi’s Brijpuri and had come down to their home for Shab-e-Baraat.
Bittu is believed to have been riding the motorcycle during the accident.