Rajkot: Five days after a 12-year-old girl died after falling off a ferris wheel at a fair in Wadhwan, Surendranagar district, police have booked the ride operator for negligence.The girl, Niharika Parmar, went to the Dharohar fair with her family during the Janmashtami festival. Her father, 45-year-old assistant sub-inspector Kanti Parmar, lodged a complaint against the ferris wheel operator, Kamarkhan Pathan, at Wadhwan police station, for causing death by negligence.According to the complaint, five family members bought tickets for the ferris wheel at an amusement park near the fairground’s main entrance. As they were boarding a gondola, the operator allegedly started the ride before Niharika could take her seat, leaving her clinging to the gondola.Family members shouted at the operator to stop the ride, but it did not halt immediately. When the ferris wheel suddenly stopped at a height, Niharika fell to the ground.She suffered serious injuries to her hands, legs and back, with two fingers of her right hand partially severed. The family alleged that the heavy crowd delayed the arrival of an ambulance.Niharika was taken to the emergency department of CU Shah Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared her dead shortly after midnight on Sep 5. The family contended that she would have survived had the ride’s emergency brake been activated promptly.
