The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Girl loses finger as maxi cab door slams on her

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 19, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Girl loses finger as maxi cab door slams on her

K. Manikandan

Vehicle started before she got down from it

The damaged hand of the 15-year-old girl. — Photo: A. Muralitharan

TAMBARAM: A 15-year-old girl lost a finger after the door of a maxi cab slammed on her before she got down from the vehicle near Pallikaranai two weeks ago.

The incident took place at Narayanapuram near Pallikaranai. The girl and her mother, residents of Sunnambu Kulathur in Kovilambakkam panchayat near Madipakkam, had gone to a supermarket in Velachery on May 4.

Around 6.45 p.m. they returned to Vijayanagaram bus stop. As most of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses were full, they found it difficult to board with the bags. Hence, they got into a maxi cab plying between Velachery and Medavakkam.

At 7 p.m. the vehicle reached Narayanapuram. The girl's mother said she got down first at the bus stop and was waiting for her daughter to get down.

Even before the girl could step down, the attendant in the van slammed the door and the vehicle started. The girl held the vehicle's window for support and her hand was caught when the vehicle's door was slammed.

Her ring finger was severed and those waiting at the bus stop tried to stop the profuse bleeding.

The mother said she chased the van that had reached Medavakkam and managed to retrieve the severed finger.

She rushed back to Narayanapuram and took her daughter to Stanley Medical College and Hospital. But doctors said the finger was badly damaged and nothing could be done.

Two weeks later, the girl is still in a state of shock, hesitant to meet anyone or talk about the incident. "Though it is just an accident, my daughter is too traumatised to talk about it," said the mother, who requested anonymity. They are yet to give a complaint in writing to the Pallikaranai police station.

Lack of safety

Members of the Bharathi Youth Association in Sunnambu Kulathur criticised the manner in which the maxi cabs are operated on the Velachery Main Road.

While they are of immense help to people wanting to reach Medavakkam and beyond once the MTC services stop in the night, the maxi cab operators have scant regard for safety of its occupants and other motorists.

Pointing out that maxi cabs were not permitted to operate on such routes, they wondered why policemen all along the route were silent to the menace.

The police are either unaware of the operation of maxi cabs or turning a blind eye deliberately, its members alleged.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail