Delhi: Child run over by uncle busy with cellphone

A three-year-old lingering at the bonnet of a car got pulled under it when his uncle, who was behind the wheel, started driving without knowing he was in the front. The child succumbed to his severe injuries on Wednesday.

The incident, which took place at Bharat Nagar in southeast Delhi on Monday, brings into focus the perils of driving while being distracted, especially with technology.

The mishap was captured on a CCTV camera overlooking the road, and went viral on social media. In the footage, the man, identified as Aas Mohammed, can be seen dropping off the little boy home in his new Maruti Brezza.

As the child gets out and begins making his way around the SUV's front to cross the road, the man looks at his phone. For moments, his eyes stay peeled to the screen and, at 5.17 p.m., he starts up the car, presumably thinking the boy is out of the way. The car drags him for at least 20 metres, when Mohammad realises some people are shouting for him to stop. He gets out, and the boy is rushed to the hospital.

Mohammad was arrested for negligent driving. Reports quote a policeman as saying the case is being investigated and the child's mother ruing her decision to let him take a ride with his uncle.