Grief grips family of man killed in BMW accident

New Delhi - It has been an ill-fated Ramzan for Mehmunnisha - widow of Mohammed Rafiq who sat wailing outside her east Delhi home here Tuesday. Rafiq, father of five, was killed Monday after a speeding BMW crashed into his cab in central Delhi.

The 39-year-old cab driver was heading to pick up a passenger from south Delhi when a medical student's speeding BMW rammed into his Maruti Eeco at Tilak Marg crossing around 1.20 a.m.

Mehmunnisha murmurs every time she comes out of bouts of unconsciousness.

Rafiq, the sole breadwinner, is survived by his children, parents and wife. Hailing from Siwan in Bihar, Rafiq had been living on rent with his family at Fazalpur in east Delhi's Mandawali.

“Rafiq left the house for south Delhi's Vasant Kunj around 1 a.m. Monday after he received a call. If I knew that this time Rafiq will not return back, I would have never allowed him to go outside,” Mehmunnisha told IANS.

The BMW rammed into the Eeco tearing into its windshield. Minutes later, Rafiq's car was in inferno after which he succumbed to injuries at Lok Nayak hospital.

Driving a cab for over 20 years, Rafiq ran his own pick-and-drop service for a private school. He occasionally picked up passengers from the airport at night.

“He used to go at night to receive passengers from Airport, other than his day duty as cab driver in a private school in Noida,” Mehmunnisha told IANS.

"It is all over for us. I don't know how I will bring up my children now. He was the only earning members and he has been snatched from us," she said.

Rafiq was at Tilak Marg crossing when the driver of the BMW, 22-year-old medical student Ayush Arora, rammed his cab. Arora, a resident of Bhiwani, is staying at a hostel in Maulana Azad Medical College where he is interning.

According to police, Arora was released on bail later. Police said Ayush's medical test showed he was not under the influence of alcohol.

Back at Rafiq's humble single-storey house, an eerie silence prevails. Tears flow unchecked as the old man talks about the fate of the family after Rafiq's death.

“My son will not come back, but I need justice. Neither I have the money nor I am physicallly able to earn for the family,” Rashool told IANS.

Uncertainty loomed large over his the fate of Rafiq's five children- three daughters and two sons.

Eldest son Maqbool,15, class 10 student, recalls the last time he met his father at the dinner table.

“I don't know how my family will survive … I do not have money to pay Rs. 4,000 monthly rent of my house, where my family has been living for 20 years,” said Maqbool, unable to check his tears, as the future looked uncertain for his family - minus his father.