Criticism is mounting in Rautahat following the death of a four-year-old girl who was struck by a car used by a candidate from Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).
The accident occurred at around 2:30 Thursday afternoon at in Mathiya Tole, Ishnath Municipality-4, when a car with registration number Ba 15 Cha 4244 hit Alpha Khatun.
Claims have surfaced that Sheikh Sagir, the RSP candidate for Rautahat-2, was inside the vehicle at the time of the accident. The car was adorned with stickers featuring the candidate's photo and a pole on the front for displaying the party flag.
Video footage of the accident circulating on the social media shows the young girl attempting to cross the road. Although the car did not appear to be traveling at high speed on the narrow road, the footage shows the front of the vehicle striking the girl and the rear wheel subsequently running over her after she fell.
CCTV footage shows local residents gathering at the scene immediately, following the impact, raising questions about whether the candidate was indeed inside.
According to DSP Bishnu Pradeep Basyal of the District Police Office, Rautahat, the driver and relatives placed the girl in the vehicle and rushed her to Gaur City Hospital. However, once the child was pronounced dead, the driver disappeared. The driver has been identified as 27-year-old Sheikh Mustakh from Paroha Municipality who was taken into police custody on Thursday.
DSP Basyal stated that their findings indicate the candidate was not in the vehicle at the time. He clarified that while the candidate was in the area for door-to-door campaigning, he was not inside the car when the accident occurred. When questioned about the family’s claims that the candidate was a passenger, he responded that after the accident, the victim’s mother and neighbors accompanied the driver to the hospital, but the driver fled out of panic once they arrived.
The RSP candidate, when questioned about the incident, confirmed that the vehicle is registered in his name but maintained he was not inside during the crash. He explained that they were conducting a door-to-door program in Mathiya Tole and had parked the car to walk through the village with community members.
He suggested the driver might have been moving the vehicle or heading elsewhere when the accident happened, adding that the driver simply failed to see the child. He noted that the driver, who is a licensed professional, briefly switched off his phone in a panic before eventually surrendering to the police. In his preliminary statement, the driver told police he did not see the girl as she suddenly entered the road. The police are currently proceeding with a formal investigation into the case.
