An army jawan on his way to Jammu and Kashmir to resume duty died on Wednesday morning after an autorickshaw in which he was travelling overturned near Santacruz on the Western Express Highway (WEH).
Yallappa Balappa Naik from Belgaum was heading towards Andheri when the accident took place at around 5 am. Naik sustained head injuries and was rushed to a hospital by the police. However, he was declared dead on admission.
The driver Vivek Kumar Singh, 22, who fled the spot was later arrested by the Vakola police and charged with causing death by negligence.
Naik arrived in the city by a luxury bus to board a flight to J&K where he was posted in Baramulla district. After alighting from the bus, Naik took an auto for the airport. At Agripada bus stop on WEH, Singh lost control of the auto and dashed into a divider. As a result of the collision, the autorickshaw overturned.
Instead of taking the jawan to a nearby hospital, Singh fled. A passer-by alerted the police, who rushed him to VN Desai hospital.
“We had only a part of the number of the auto. On scrutinising the CCTV footage along the WEH, we traced the driver. His auto has also been seized,” an official said.
