Drunk ASI’s Bolero ends a father’s life, ruins child’s future:10-year-old loses leg, relatives allege officials delaying help and protecting accused

Harshit was very fond of cycling. Just 20 days ago, a new bicycle had arrived for him. He wasn’t even able to balance properly. I had jokingly told him, ‘Honey, just wait a few days. These training wheels will come off, then you’ll see how fast you’ll ride. You’ll make a perfect balance.’ Saying this, the voice of 10-year-old Harshit’s uncle Bhagat chokes up. He further says, “Who knew that my boy’s leg would be severed? Now, how will he live the rest of his life? What will be his future?” This is not just Harshit’s uncle’s pain, but the pain of the entire family, which a horrific evening on November 7th has shattered forever. Actually, Harshit was going to his village with his father Dashrath Rathore, mother, and sister. At the same time, ASI Manoj Yadav of Jawad police station collided directly with their bike from the front with his Bolero car. The collision was so severe that Harshit’s father died on the spot, and Harshit’s legs were badly crushed. Doctors had no other option but to amputate one of his legs. After the incident, the ASI fled from the spot and was arrested on November 8. The family members had also blocked the road to demand financial assistance for the family. Drunk ASI hit four vehicles
This heartbreaking incident occurred on Neemuch-Jawad Road around 7:30 PM. ASI Manoj Yadav, posted at Jawad police station, was driving his high-speed Bolero car. According to eyewitnesses, the car was swerving badly on the road, as if the driver was not in his senses. ASI Yadav hit four vehicles, one after another. In this accident, Dashrath Rathore died instantly while four other people were seriously injured. People present at the time of the incident reported that alcohol bottles were found in ASI Manoj Yadav’s car. He himself was so intoxicated that he could not stand properly. Eyewitness said – he was trying to escape instead of helping
44-year-old Bhopal Singh, injured in this accident, shudders remembering that evening. He said, ‘As usual, I was going in my car from Neemuch to my home Athana. Then on Jawad Road, I saw a Bolero car coming at a very high speed, swaying. It first hit a family going on a bike hard. The bike flew into the air. After this, he hit two more vehicles, which caused the driver’s side tire of his car to burst. After the tire burst, his car started going off the road, and as it went off, it hit me too. I fell away from my vehicle. I was wearing a helmet, so my head was saved, but there was unbearable pain in my leg. ASI called someone and quietly left from there
Bhopal Singh says that if ASI Manoj Yadav’s car tire had not burst, he would have definitely fled from there. When the car didn’t move forward, he also looked back, where the entire family was writhing, covered in blood. But instead of helping them, that merciless person called someone and quietly left from there. I called my boss, after which people gathered around. The condition of the family who had the accident was unbearable to witness. That man (Dashrath)’s leg was almost separated from his body, and he died on the spot. The condition of the young boy (Harshit) was also very critical; both his legs were badly broken. The little girl also sustained injuries, and the woman (Dashrath’s wife) was lying unconscious. We all together brought the injured to the hospital. Dashrath’s body was later brought by an ambulance. One of my legs has also been fractured. Plea for Justice and Administrative Apathy
On Saturday, the day after the incident, when the family learned about Harshita’s serious condition and she was referred to Udaipur for better treatment, their anger erupted. The family and villagers blocked the Jawad highway and refused to accept Dashrath’s body. Their demands included the immediate arrest of the guilty ASI Manoj Yadav and the strictest possible action against him. The family demanded immediate financial assistance and a government job for Dashrath’s wife so that she could support her children. However, after persuasion and assurances from the administration, the family ended the blockade and Dashrath’s last rites were performed. The house’s courtyard is plunged in mourning, the future in darkness
The atmosphere at Dashrath Rathore’s house in Jawad is somber. Inside the house, Dashrath’s elderly mother is in a terrible state, crying inconsolably. Dashrath’s wife, who herself was injured in the accident, lies unconscious on the floor in a room. A belt is tied around her waist, and an injection needle is still in her hand. Sona Chauhan, Dashrath’s sister-in-law, present in the room, says, looking at her sister’s condition, ‘I live in Neemuch. Last night I received a call that my sister and brother-in-law had an accident. I immediately rushed to the hospital. There I found out how terrible the accident was. My brother-in-law died on the spot; the police brought him later in an ambulance.’ Not even a single rupee of help received from the administration
Sonu further says, ‘My sister’s son has lost one leg. He is undergoing treatment in Udaipur. Just now, when you arrived, I received another call for money. His leg was so badly injured that doctors had to amputate one leg. What will happen to the other leg, we don’t know yet. We are bearing all the expenses from Neemuch to Udaipur. We are somehow arranging and sending money. So far, not even a single rupee of help has been received from the administration. Angered by this, we blocked the road, but there too, we only received assurances. No concrete help was provided. She says – In a single day, my elder sister’s happy family was ruined. And because of whom…because of a careless policeman. She says – I don’t want anything. I just want my elder sister to get a job so she can feed her children. Now there is no one left to earn in their house. We don’t have a father in our maternal home either, who will she rely on? The administration should also pay for the treatment of all these people. But the administration is saying that we don’t have this rule, we don’t have that rule. Serious accusation against police for protecting the accused
The family’s anger has further intensified because they feel that the police department is trying to protect its own employee. Dashrath’s brother-in-law, Narendra Singh Chauhan, directly accused, saying, ‘Manoj Yadav caused the accident of my brother-in-law and his family. Liquor bottles were found in his car. He was drunk. People nearby told us that when he was running on foot, some policemen came there and they helped him escape from there. The police administration is still protecting him.’ He says, ‘Manoj was so drunk that he couldn’t even walk. But look, he absconded the same night. How can this happen? The police deliberately let him escape. What should have happened is that the police should immediately apprehend someone who commits such an act.’ =Justice was denied to us, the police were hitting us with sticks
The family had blocked traffic at the Bharbhadia Fanta on the Mhow-Nasirabad Highway, demanding justice. The police’s behavior during this time rubbed salt into the family’s wounds. Dashrath’s great-aunt, Sona Bai, tearfully recounts, ‘First, such a big accident happened to us. When we sat on the road for justice, female police officers came and showed us sticks, threatening us.’ She was saying that they would call more police, beat you all, and drive you away from here. If such an incident were to happen in a policeman’s house, would they remain silent? My son is gone, my grandson became disabled. Now how will my daughter-in-law and her daughter live? How will they feed themselves? If we are demanding jobs and justice for them, where are we wrong? He made the mistake, but why are we getting the punishment?’ Accused policeman arrested after 12 hours
The accused ASI Manoj Yadav is a resident of Haryana. His family also lives in Haryana. In his more than 20 years of service, he has been posted in several districts. For the last 6 years, he has been posted in different police stations in Neemuch. Neemuch SP Ankit Jaiswal said that after the incident, a case was registered against Manoj Yadav under BNS sections 106(1), 281, 125A. He was suspended with immediate effect. After this, he was arrested on Saturday. Family members and eyewitnesses are alleging that he was intoxicated, and a medical check-up has been conducted to investigate this. When the SP was asked if the police were being accused of helping the accused escape, he completely denied it. ​