Boy killed, sister critical as police tow truck hits scooter in Raipur’s prime Civil Lines area

Raipur: A fatal road accident in one of Raipur's most prime and high-security localities claimed the life of a schoolboy and left his sister critically injured on Friday morning when a traffic police tow truck allegedly ran over their electric scooter in the Civil Lines area. The crash occurred around 7.50 am in front of the Chhattisgarh Club, close to the chief minister's residence, a zone known for strict traffic regulation and frequent movement of official vehicles. Eyewitnesses said the tow truck hit the scooter from behind, throwing both children onto the road and causing panic among commuters. The deceased has been identified as Ansh Aathwani, 14, who was riding the scooter to school. His younger sister, Namisa, 12, was critically injured and admitted to Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial Hospital. Doctors said her condition remains serious. Locals alleged that the tow truck driver fled the scene after abandoning the vehicle. Within minutes, a crowd gathered, with residents questioning how a police vehicle could be driven at high speed in a pedestrian-heavy area during school hours. Civil Lines ACP Ramakant Sahu said preliminary findings indicate the tow truck was speeding. "A case has been registered, the body has been sent for post-mortem, and efforts are on to trace and arrest the absconding driver," he said. The Raipur incident was part of a series of road accidents across Chhattisgarh since Thursday night, in which at least seven people were killed in separate crashes reported from Korba, Bilaspur and Kanker, police said. In Korba, a car reportedly lost control and overturned in the Urga area, killing two occupants, including a former NSUI functionary, while two others—one identified as a Congress block president—suffered serious injuries, police said.In Bilaspur, three members of a family—a man, his wife and their teenage daughter—were killed when their motorcycle was hit by a pickup vehicle near Tendua Mod while they were returning from a local fair, officials said. In Kanker, two minors died and four others were injured when a car, allegedly speeding towards a roadside dhaba for a birthday outing, rammed into a tree on National Highway-30 near Govindpur in the early hours on Thursday. Police have sent the bodies for post-mortem and registered proceedings in the case.