Blaming their uncle for the death of their parents and sister, the brothers also claimed that Mangru Verma, who insisted on driving the family in his taxi, was a habitual heavy drinker.
Two brothers who survived an accident on the Eastern Freeway on Saturday morning, when a taxi driven by their maternal uncle crashed into a divider killing six persons travelling in the car and injuring three others, told DNA that the uncle had refused to pay heed to their suggestion to not drive, since he had consumed a large quantity of alcohol the previous night.
Blaming their uncle for the death of their parents and sister, the brothers also claimed that Mangru Verma, who insisted on driving the family in his taxi, was a habitual heavy drinker.
Harkesh Verma, his wife Rajshree, and their three children Ragini, Vinay and Ravi, all residents of Surat, had come to Mumbai to stay with Mangru Verma, his wife Ananra, son Rajkmuar and daughter Asha at their residence in Wadala, to celebrate Chatth puja together. Ananra and Rajshree were sisters.
Mangru, who owns a Santro taxi, was driving the two families to Mumbadevi temple.
Rajkumar, 8, Ananra, 35, Harkesh, 45, Rajshree, 35, Ragini, 18, and Asha, 12, were killed in the accident, while Mangru, 35, Vinay and Ravi, 14, sustained serious injuries.
"He was drunk last night too. He came home very late and finished off an entire bottle of alcohol. Last night too, my masi (maternal aunt) Ananra and mausaji (maternal uncle) Mangru had a fight about him consuming alcohol.
We have been in Mumbai for the last two days, and he would come home drunk every night," Ravi told DNA.
Vinay, Ravi's elder brother, said: "We even offered to take another vehicle in the morning so that he wouldn't have to drive. He, however, insisted. My father kept telling him to drive slowly, and so did my aunt, but he drove the car with greater speed instead."
Ratna Verma, another maternal aunt of the two brothers, said, "He (Mangru) had been driving a taxi for quite some years now. He had purchased this taxi with his own money."
Speaking about Mangru's alcoholism, she said: "Ananra and Mangru used to have regular fights over his habits. Not one night would he come home sober, and not one night would the kids see their father in a good condition."
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