The bad roads of Bengaluru have reportedly claimed the life of a commuter — a 65-year-old person with a physical disability. On the night of September 6, Khurshid Ahmed was returning home on his two-wheeler, fitted with an extra set of wheels in the rear side of the vehicle, when the incident took place. He was thrown off his two-wheeler when he was passing through the uneven stretch of Mangammanapalya road in the western part of the city. The incident reportedly occurred in Kamakshipalya traffic police limits around 8.45 pm.
According to the reports, Khurshid Ahmed, a Haryana native, had been living in Bengaluru for nearly two decades. He was a madrassa teacher, and also sold perfumes and handkerchiefs for a living.
According to a report in the Times of India, the early probe stated the man had died due to the broken stretch on the Mangammanapalya Main Road. It quoted police officials saying that Ahmed could not see the dug-up part, and consequently, the vehicle’s front wheel sank into the depressed part of the area, which threw him off the vehicle. The vehicle fell on him causing injuries to his head and face.
A report in the Deccan Herald stated that Ahmed, who was allegedly not wearing a helmet, was grievously injured. People in the area rushed him to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
TOI quoted the Deputy Commissioner (Traffic-West) Kuldeep Kumar as saying that the deceased’s relative suspected a sanitary line at the spot caused the accident. The Deputy Commissioner further said that the civic authorities had failed to restore the road, which was dug up a year ago to lay pipelines.
The police inspector told TNM that they registered a case based on the complaint of Ahmed’s relative, under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The fatality was reported days after residents from across the city expressed disdain over the bad condition of the roads across the city. Some residents near Anjanapura planted paddies and ferried coracles to protest, while residents of Varthur used social media platforms to push the civic agencies to repair the bad road in their area.