Hit-and-run in the heart of city, yet no CCTV footage: Hyd woman seeks justice for father

Renuka's father died in a hit-and-run case at the KBR park junction, but the police say they have no leads.
Hit-and-run in the heart of city, yet no CCTV footage: Hyd woman seeks justice for father
Hit-and-run in the heart of city, yet no CCTV footage: Hyd woman seeks justice for father
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August 2 was like any other morning for Renuka, a Hyderabad citizen, and her family.

Renuka's father was a yoga teacher, who had been taking classes in the morning for more than a decade.

"He taught at the Addlife building and it was a normal day. He usually leaves our home in Madhapur a little before 5am in the morning, and takes a cab or walks to his destination, and he was doing the same, on that day," Renuka says.

However, on that fateful day, the senior citizen became the victim of a hit-and-run accident.  

"According to eyewitnesses, he was walking in front of NTR Bhavan at the KBR Park Junction, when a car which was driving on the wrong side of the road, rammed into him," Renuka says.

"There was a bike that was coming from behind my father, and as the car hit him, he fell on the biker, who also suffered some minor injuries. The car was also supposedly driving with its headlights switched off," she adds.

Renuka says that the police were immediately informed, and an ambulance called, following which the family was also informed. 

"It took us around 20 minutes to reach the spot, and the ambulance had arrived by then. We rushed him to MaxCure Hospitals at Madhapur. However, the impact of the fall was so bad that he had bleeding in his brain and was bleeding from his ear," Renuka says.

Within a few minutes, the doctors announced that Renuka's father was brain dead. At around 12pm that same afternoon, doctors said that he suffered a cardiac arrest, and passed away. 

However, Renuka's troubles were far from over.

"The same evening, my husband went and filed an FIR at the Banjara Hills police station. Police have claimed that there was no CCTV footage at the time of the accident, that could have caught the crime on camera," she says.

Renuka senses something fishy, as the junction where the incident occurred, is one of the busiest places in the city during the day.

With the KBR National Park situated on one side, and the national headquarters of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on the other, the junction has several CCTV cameras in place, besides private cameras that dot the premises of the NTR Bhavan.  

There is also the renowned LV Prasad Eye Hospital and a massive cinema theatre/mall on the other side of the road, besides numerous commercial outlets.

Therefore, Renuka is not convinced with the police's claim that the accused was not caught on camera.

"Since then, we have also enquired with some of the commercial outlets, and they claim that their cameras were not working for two days, including on August 2, when the incident happened," Renuka says. 

Even the biker who suffered injuries, stated that the car sped away before he could note down the number, or see where it was going. 

"In the CCTV footage that we did manage to get, the car was not seen. We are assuming that the vehicle got into one of the by-lanes in the area, after the accident," Renuka adds.

With no other leads on the crime, Renuka has asked for any help from authorities or citizens who might have witnessed the accident.  

The Banjara Hills police have registered a case under Section 304 A (Causing death by negligence) of the IPC, but have made no further progress.

"We haven't been able to trace the vehicle itself. Only once we do that, we can find out who was driving the car at that time on that day, and proceed further," Sub-Inspector Hareesh Reddy told TNM.

When asked if the police expect to find any leads soon, the SI added, "It is a time-taking process. It will not happen in a matter of two or three days." 

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