Mumbai: A four-year-old boy, the only child of his parents, died after a speeding SUV rammed into him in the basement of his housing society in Malad East and the motorist walked off without taking him to a doctor.Dindoshi police initially lodged a case of negligence and arrested the motorist, businessman Ramesh Jatara (45), on the day of the incident on Feb 7. A holiday court granted him bail the next day. However, before he was released from jail, a cousin of the victim, Laksh Singh, informed police that Jatara had been warned in the past against rash driving in the building compound, but he paid no heed. Police then added stronger sections of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and informed the court about it on Monday. Jatara was re-arrested from Thane prison on Tuesday.“Had Jatara rushed my son to the hospital immediately after the incident, there could have been some hope for his survival,” said Laksh’s father, Jayprakash Singh, as he broke down.Laksh was born to Jayprakash, who runs a wholesale groceries business, and his wife more than two decades after their marriage.The Singhs reside at Neelyog Virat, a highrise off Western Express Highway in Malad. The society has deployed two security guards in the basement — two levels underground — where children from the society sometimes play. Police said Jatara owns an apartment in Neelyog Virat, but has rented it out. He uses the basement parking for his SUV and lives in another society nearby.On Feb 7, Laksh and a few of his friends were playing in the B-2 level basement, when around 4.30pm, an SUV came hurtling downstairs. Sunil Jaiswal, a 38-year-old guard who was on duty in the basement, heard a shrill cry followed by a muffled sound. He rushed to check what had happened. “The SUV had hit a child and dragged him along. The boy [Laksh] was bruised all over and his toy was broken. I picked him up and made him sit on a chair. But the motorist [Jatara] drove ahead to park his vehicle,” Jaiswal said. After parking the SUV, Jatara reportedly told Jaiswal and his co-worker to find the injured boy’s family and take him home. He then left.“I had been hired only two days ago and did not know where the child lived,” said Jaiswal, who offered Laksh some water and stayed with him. Some time later, Laksh’s cousin came looking for him and found him injured. He alerted Laksh’s family who moved him to a private hospital in the vicinity. But Laksh succumbed to his injuries. An autopsy examination, which will give his cause of death, is awaited.“We had a wedding in the family on Feb 5 and a large number of guests had come to stay with us. Jatara turned a moment of celebration into a mourning period for us,” said Jayprakash. After completing Laksh’s last rites on Sunday, the family learnt that Jatara had been granted bail by a holiday court. “Our relatives gathered at the police station and demonstrated for justice. A cousin gave a police statement as to how Jatara had been warned in the past against rash driving. Police then added stricter charges against him,” said Jayprakash.“We want the strictest possible punishment for Jatara. Laksh was the apple of our eyes…he has been snatched from us at a tender age,” said his mother.
