Toddler crushed to death after crawling under tempo in outer Delhi's Narela

A one-and-a-half-year-old girl was crushed to death under the wheels of a tempo in outer Delhi's Narela on Monday when she crawled under the vehicle unnoticed and it started moving, police said.

The incident was reported around 11 am, they said.

According to the police, the child was playing outside her house with two-three other children when she crawled under the parked vehicle without anybody noticing her. She was killed when the tempo moved.

The vehicle was supplying water in the area, they said.

A case was registered and the 19-year-old driver of the vehicle, identified as Neeraj, arrested, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Gaurav Sharma said.

Neeraj used to come to the JJ colony every day to supply water to the residents.

The victim's father said that he was at a chemist's store when the accident took place. "I received a call from my wife and she told me that our child died in an accident. She told me that Neeraj was wearing earphones or some other audio equipment and hence couldn't hear the neighbours shouting," Majibul Ahmd, the girl's father, said.

Meanwhile, locals said they tried to alert Neeraj about the child but in vain.

"I was standing outside my house and filling a bucket with water when I saw the child under the vehicle. Neeraj had just got in, I tried to stop him by shouting but he couldn't hear me and the child died," a woman said.

Another neighbour, Sanjal, said he too shouted and alerted the driver about the child after he started the vehicle.

"Neeraj is always speeding and couldn't hear us and took a sudden turn after which the girl died," he said.

An enquiry has been initiated, the police said, adding they will investigate the matter from all angles.

A post-mortem was conducted and the body was handed over to family, the officer said.