She was still alive when taken to hospital, says family of murdered woman

Family members of Priya Mehra, a 34-year-old woman who was shot dead at close range inside a car early on Wednesday in Shalimar Bagh, allege she was still breathing when taken to hospital, and could have been saved if provided timely medical aid. They also allege police did not arrive on time.

Priya Mehra was in a Ritz car with her husband, Pankaj Mehra, at the wheels and two-year-old son Naish beside her when she was shot twice from close range at around 4.15 a.m. in west Delhi by four assailants in another car.

"If the hospital and police had acted fast, Priya could have been saved," Pankaj's nephew, Ankit Mehra, 26, told IANS.

 

"They kept on saying that a team of doctors would arrive, but they didn't even clean the blood from her face," Ankit said, and added "They didn't even clean her blood from the child's face."

Naish Mehra's bright yellow T-shirt and red shorts were both stained with his mother's blood - as she lay on a bed with two bullet injuries: one on her cheek and another on her neck.

Immediately after the shooting, Pankaj called up the police and said he was taking his wife to Saroj Hospital in Madhuban Chowk, a 15-minute drive away, and drove straight there, the family said.

Soon after, Pankaj called Ankit and he too reached the hospital by 4.40 a.m.

"Police was in confusion over who (which police station) should respond to the call as the exact spot of firing was not known. And when I reached the hospital the police was not there," he said.

Ankit showed his phone history to show the calls he made to police.

Later multiple teams of police from different police stations reached the hospital.

"When she (Priya) was taken into the hospital, she was alive and she was blinking her eyes and they were open," Pankaj's sister Sabeena Mehra told IANS.

She alleged the hospital did not even provide first aid to Priya.

Another family member Prateek, 20, said: "They told us 'Let the police come first' and did not even give any first aid."

Contacted, the Saroj Hospital authorities said that "they have no comment to offer" and later said that "they'll get back on the matter".

Reached for a comment, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Milind Mahadeo Dumbere told IANS that Pankaj was driving while making the call to police, and that might have "caused some confusion" and termed it a "technical problem".

"If they give a complaint in writing we'll look into both the issues," the officer said.

The family members told IANS that they would file a complaint against the hospital.

Meanwhile, in the Shalimar Bagh police station parking lot, the car in which Priya was shot dead stood with its two window panes shattered. Her pink sandals lay on the floor of the car along side shattered glass bits stained with her blood. It had not yet completely dried.

(Nikhil M Babu can be contacted at nikhil.b@ians.in)

--IANS

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