Shillong, Nov 24: A 36-year-old woman died after she was seen falling from a car on the main road near the Deputy Commissioner’s office in the city.
It was unclear if she jumped or pushed.
This information came only after 17 days of the “traffic accident” when the truth trickled out about what led to the death of the woman, a resident of Malki. Her name has not been shared to protect her privacy.
The woman was seen tumbling out of a moving vehicle on the night of November 7 on the road and seen to be bruised black and blue in the face. She was taken to civil hospital and from there to Woodland hospital where she succumbed after six days in the ICU on November 13.
She never regained consciousness after her “accident” till she breathed her last in Woodland Hospital. Her family, friends and well wishers are in the dark and traumatised by the questions that she cannot answer anymore.
The capital is a scene of many crimes against women, but the sight of a moving car door opening and ejecting a woman on to the streets close to midnight on that night was a sight that shocked a work gang reportedly engaged in plastering Cherry Blossom Festival posters on the walls for much-awaited celebrations. It was even more shocking that the vehicle did not stop but revved away till the people on the road forcibly stopped it and compelled the driver, under the escort of one of the by-stander workers, to take her to the civil hospital. From there after about an hour as “wanted” by the family she was taken to Woodland Hospital.
What exactly happened to the woman that night? Was she pushed out of the vehicle or did she jump? If she jumped, what forced her to jump?
For two days after the incident, it was treated merely as a “traffic accident”. The family had filed an FIR in the Sadar Police Station on November 10. The driver of the alto ML09AF 1961, identified in the FIR as Edward Roger Ryntathiang (36), was arrested for rash driving and later released on bail.
But after she died, the case has taken a serious turn including that of possible murder. Sources said that she was in a relationship with the driver of the Alto which adds a totally new layer of context to the whole incident.
The police have started investigating the angle of possible murder and will seek the court’s permission to add more sections to the FIR.
According to sources, it is learnt that the FIR filed by the victim’s family said that eye-witnesses had seen her falling from the vehicle speeding and had smelt alcohol from the breath of the driver when he was forced to stop.
Sources said that at that time when confronted he had claimed he did not notice her falling. Then he changed his stance and said she had fallen when she was spitting from the car window. Sources said that the family was adamant that even if she had fallen, the fact that he had sped away showed an ulterior motive to flee.
The emergency booth of the Shillong Civil Hospital specified that the cause of her injuries was, “She jumped from a running vehicle,” and the person who brought her was “boyfriend’.
According to police sources, earlier the case was handled by the Traffic department, but with the death of the woman, the case has been handed over to the police for further investigation with the appointment of a case investigating officer.
It is learnt that all possible people who were in touch with them that night and all the CCTV footage available along the road including the Smart City Surveillance network records are being called in to find out what happened that night so that justice can be done to the woman.
