Noida: A five-year-old girl was killed and her father and uncle critically injured in a hit-and-run accident involving a speeding BMW and a Honda Activa scooter near Sector 30, Noida, in the early hours of Sunday, according to police. The deceased, identified by police as Ayat Khatun (5), was returning from the Post Graduate Institute of Child Health with her father.(Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

Police and eyewitnesses said that the scooter was travelling on the wrong side of the road, while the BMW was speeding. A preliminary investigation suggested both suspects, the driver of the car Yash Sharma, 22, a BBA graduate from Noida Sector 37, and co-passenger Abhishek Rawat, 22, an MBA student from Sector 70, had consumed alcohol prior to the accident. The collision’s impact caused the scooter to skid for around 200 metres, even as none of the victims wore helmets at the time, police added.

The deceased, identified by police as Ayat Khatun, was returning from the Post Graduate Institute of Child Health with her father, Gul Mohammad, 37, and uncle Raja, 18, — all residents of Sector 45 in Noida — after seeking medical care for Ayat’s ear pain. A little after 12am, as their scooter exited the hospital, it was struck head-on by a Haryana-registered BMW, allegedly driven by Sharma, police said.

“Sharma recently started dealing in the sales and purchase of vehicles with his associate Gagandeep Singh, who owns the BMW. Sharma took the keys of the BMW around four days ago to sell the Haryana-registered 2016 model car,” said Noida assistant commissioner of police Praveen Singh.

Rahul Kumar, who runs a tea stall outside the hospital, said that the victims exited the hospital on the scooter. “They rode on the wrong side to approach a nearby U-turn which was 200 metres away. The speeding car was approaching from Sector 37 and hit the scooter from the front,” said Kumar, an eyewitness. Police received an emergency call at 12.15am and a Police Response Vehicle (PRV) reached the spot. The injured were rushed to a private hospital in Sector 27, but the child was declared dead on arrival. Mohammad, who sustained a severe facial injury, was riding the scooter, while Raja, who sustained multiple fractures on his leg, hand, and head, was riding pillion. The child was sitting between them, police said.

An officer involved in the investigation said that Sharma and Rawat consumed alcohol at Sharma’s home on Saturday night. “They were on a joyride and were headed towards the elevated road,” the officer said, asking not to be named.

“Following the accident, they fled the spot and returned to Sharma’s house and informed Gagandeep Singh about the accident, who had also been contacted by police,” the officer added. Sharma and Rawat then parted ways, police said. The number plate of the car had broken and fallen on the road, which helped police trace the owner.

A second officer aware of the matter said that Singh was told by police to get in touch with the two suspects and bring them to Noida Sector 20 to “settle the matter”. “When Sharma and Rawat arrived, they were arrested around 4am,” the officer said, also asking not to be named.

Mohammad’s second brother-in-law, Mohammad Masoom Ali, said the victims had left home around 11pm for the hospital as Ayat was complaining of ear pain. “Around an hour-and-a-half later, we received a call from police who told us that my brother-in-law had met with an accident and was admitted to a hospital in Sector 27. We were told that Ayat had died,” Ali told HT.

On the complaint of Gul Mohammad’s brother, Peer Mohammad Ansari, A case under sections 281 (rash driving), 125 (act endangering life), and 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at Sector 20 police station.

Ayat lived with her parents and two siblings in the Sadarpur area of Sector 45. The family is originally from Sitamarhi in Bihar. Police said the car was seized and medical reports confirmed that the suspects were inebriated when the accident took place.