The family members of a man, who died in a road mishap due to rash driving of a tempo in which he was travelling, have been awarded a compensation of nearly Rs 13 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here. The Tribunal directed the United India Insurance Company Ltd, with which the offending vehicle was insured, to pay Rs 12,96,100 to the wife, two children and the parents of victim Shailender Kumar Mehto.
“It is prima facie proved that deceased Mehto died due to injuries suffered in the accident caused due to rash and negligent driving of respondent number 1 (tempo driver),” MACT Presiding Officer Dinesh Bhatt said.
Mehto’s family members told the court that the incident took place in January this year when the victim, along with others, was travelling by the tempo for immersing the idol of Goddess Saraswati in Yamuna river near Kashmere Gate.
They said tempo driver Birender Dass took a U-turn and due to his rash and negligent driving, the vehicle overturned resulting in fatal injuries to Mehto. The victim was taken to hospital where he was declared brought dead. Mehto, 31, was working in a club at Model Town here and was earning Rs 10,000 at the time of the accident.
The tempo driver and owner denied any negligence on their part and said a man had suddenly jumped in front of their vehicle and in an attempt to save his life, the driver applied emergency brakes due to which the victim dell down from the tempo and received grievous injuries.
