Son lost, differently abled parents lose hope too in Panchkula

Amit Bathla

Advertisement

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, June 27

Living with congenital physical disabilities, the birth of a healthy son had given Gopal and Seema a ray of hope for a better tomorrow.

The initial skepticism of doctors that their child might be stillborn had turned false and they were overjoyed.

Unfortunately, after just five years, the death of disabled couple’s son turned all their hopes into despair.

“Abhay would have brought us out of the begging practice, which we are forced to do due to the physical disabilities,” Seema, who describes her son’s death as a living hell.

With no arrangement for water in their slum, the father-son duo was on their way to fetch it from a petrol pump when a rashly driven car collided into their tricycle from the rear end near Dolphin Chowk.

Though they were immediately rushed to the Civil Hospital, Abhay succumbed to the serious head injuries on the way, ripping apart the life of his parents forever.

The couple didn’t even have money to perform their son’s last rites.“A policeman handed over Rs1,000 to us. We can’t go around buying necessary items for the last rites. So, we requested him to do it for us,” said Seema.

Adding to the misery, their tricycle was crushed in the mishap. It was their only medium of commute between their jhuggi and the Mansa Devi temple, where they would seek alms.

“Now we are stuck in the jhuggi. Our mobility is restricted. It’s a challenge when it comes to arranging food. Those from big houses who know about us offer us food many a time,” wails Seema.

Now, the couple expresses desire to adopt a child who can assist them to tide over the challenges of everyday life.

“Being disabled, we found it difficult to fetch even a glass of water on our own. Though we have a daughter, she is too small to take care of us. Once married, she would stay at her in-laws’ house. Who doesn’t expect a support system with the growing age?” she says. Seeking justice for her son, she says: “I just want answers. Who killed my son? It could have been anybody’s son.”

The car driver had fled from the spot. According to the police, a CCTV camera captured the accident, but they could not get the number of the vehicle from the footage. A senior police official: “Other CCTV cameras installed near the accident spot were lying dysfunctional. We have written to the higher authorities to repair them or install new ones.”