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A three-year-old boy has died after falling into a pot of boiling sugar syrup when a rickshaw crashed into his mother, knocking him out of her arms, in a busy Delhi street. The boy, named only as Dev, fell into the steaming sugar which had been left outside a sweet shop, and later died in hospital. In response, Delhi High Court has ordered an immediate ban of the battery-powered rickshaws which often carry double the recommended four passengers at high speeds in the Indian capital.
The accident took place on Wednesday, as Dev’s mother Pinky was holding her son while standing by a sweet shop in the Trilokpuri area of Delhi.
A three-wheeled e-rickshaw ran into them at high speed and knocked Dev out of her arms and into the pot of boiling sugar.

“I was carrying Dev in my arms, when suddenly we were hit by the speeding e-rickshaw while we were standing outside a sweet shop,” Pinky said.
“I lost my balance and my son fell inside the pot filled with hot syrup prepared for jalebis.
“I started screaming for help, but no one came forward.”

Pinky suffered severe burns on her hands and arms as she pulled her son out of the pot, and both were taken to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, where Dev later died.
The e-rickshaw driver fled the scene, but despite leaving the vehicle behind, police are struggling to identify the owner as it was not registered with the city government’s transport department.

Family members have been protesting outside the local police station, demanding that authorities take action against the culprit.
In the meantime, the family are considering pressing charges against the owner of the sweet shop for placing the boiling pot on the road.
Unregulated and overcrowded e-rickshaws have been an issue in Delhi since they first began to grow in popularity in 2008.

“The state cannot allow e-rickshaw drivers to take law into their hands. The government and authorities will forthwith take steps to prevent plying of e-rickshaws without fail,” A Delhi High Court division bench said on Thursday.

“There is no specific load or number of passengers that they are required to carry. They are not registered. They have no insurance,” the bench also observed.

A hearing at Delhi High Court on August 14 will discuss new rules for the vehicles, and a potential complete ban. – Daily Mail