School teacher dies in pothole mishap

A government school teacher died in outer Delhi's Kanjhawala area on Friday afternoon, after the scooter she was riding on went over a waterlogged pothole. The woman fell off the vehicle and a speeding water tanker coming from behind ran over her, killing her on the spot. The tanker driver was arrested, police said. The deceased was identified as Usha Chauhan, 49, who worked as a teacher at a government school in the Shahbad Dairy area. Her husband, who was riding the scooter, was also injured in the accident, which took place around 4 pm.

A senior police officer said: "The teacher's husband said that all of a sudden, he felt a strong jolt as the scooter hit a waterlogged pothole, and he lost his balance. Witnesses and locals told the police that the impact was such that Usha fell off the scooter, even as her husband was trying to hold it still."

"Meanwhile, a speeding water tanker approaching from behind crushed her. As the onlookers raised an alarm, the tanker driver fled from the spot," he said, adding that the woman was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival. The body was then sent for post-mortem and the tanker was seized.

"A case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 304A for causing death due to negligence has been registered and the matter is being probed further," the officer said. The agitated locals, meanwhile, demanded immediate action against the civic authorities responsible for maintenance of the roads. They told the police that the pit concerned had been there for the last six months but no corporation took any effort to repair it.