For the family of 28-year-old Zomato delivery executive Parvender Kumar, New Year’s Eve was a day of mourning. At the family’s home in Budhana village, a 20-minute drive from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, dozens of relatives and neighbors were still gathering in the courtyard to mourn him, almost a week after he died in an accident in Greater Noida after he was allegedly hit by a car with a “district judge” sticker.
“The last time I spoke to him was on Sunday… for about half an hour. Then he left for work and met with the accident,” said his wife Santosh, waiting. The couple have two daughters, Diksha (6) and Shivangi (4).
For the family, this was the second bereavement in two months — Parvender’s father, Nahar Singh, had died on November 5.
His elder brother, Jeevan, said they received news that Parvender had been in an accident near Parhala roundabout, around 2 am on December 26. He rushed to Noida, but it was too late. He had died on the spot of his injuries. “He was wearing a helmet… but he was hit so hard that it did not help. The car had been coming almost from the wrong side of the road,” he alleged.
Photographs from the spot show that the front of Parvender’s bike was crushed. The car, a Toyota Corolla, also sustained considerable damage, and was flipped upside down.
Relatives said lack of opportunities in the village had driven Parvender to seek out work as a delivery driver about three-four years ago. In Budhana, most locals are either engaged in agriculture or unskilled labour. Both his brothers, Jeevan and Veerender, work as labourers. “There are very few opportunities here,” a relative said.
Jeevan also said the late hours were not unusual for Parvender, who was staying in Ghaziabad and working in adjoining areas. He said, “Most of his work happened late. Recently, it was even more late than usual, since our sister Poonam is supposed to get married in February. That is the kind of man he was; he always took responsibility for the family. He would come home to the village to visit his family every month or so.”
His family is also in touch with Zomato regarding the formalities after his death. A Zomato spokesperson said, “In case a delivery executive meets with an accident that causes their death, even if they are not delivering an order at the time, there is an insurance coverage of Rs 10 lakh. We also assist with the funeral expenses.”
ACP 3 Susheel Kumar had earlier said they arrested the suspected driver, Suyash Mishra, who is a friend of the judge’s son. Police said he had allegedly fled after the incident. Officials in the district administration said the car belonged to a principal judge of the family court, who is a district judge cadre officer.
Suyash was charged with rash driving and causing death due to negligence in the FIR, filed based on a complaint by Jeevan. He has been released on bail since the offense carries a sentence of less than seven years.
On the day of the accident, the family court judge’s son also filed a case for criminal breach of trust at Bisrakh police station in Greater Noida. According to that FIR, he and four of his batchmates, including Suyash, had decided to study together at his home. The FIR states that he and another boy fell asleep afterwards. The judge’s son alleged in the FIR that the other three had then taken the keys without permission to return home, and that he had later received a call stating that they had gotten into an accident and left the car.
Parvender’s relatives, however, had their apprehensions about the probe so far. A relative said, “How is it that someone doesn’t know when their own car is being taken away? We can’t believe this.”
