The stretch near Sector IV-F crossing in Bokaro steel city where Class XII student Neelabh (above) was killed in an accident on Tuesday night. Picture by Pankaj Singh

The cardinal mistake of not wearing helmets cost a Class XII student of Delhi Public School (DPS) his life and left his classmate in coma in Bokaro steel city on Tuesday night.

Neelabh (17) and Dholendu Pandey (17) had appeared for their CBSE plus two chemistry paper in the morning and was headed for a group discussion on mathematics — the test being scheduled for March 24 — in Sector VI. The boys started from their Sector IV private hostel, 3km from Sector VI, on a friend’s scooter around 7.30pm.

While Neelabh was steering the two-wheeler, Dholendu was riding pillion. They had barely reached the Sector IV-F crossing when a black SUV coming from the opposite direction hit their two-wheeler head-on around 8pm and fled. Police said the teenagers were flung off on the road and received multiple head injuries.

Since this particular stretch of road is not frequented by many late in the evening, the accident went unnoticed for at least half an hour before some passer-by raised an alarm. Both boys were later taken to Bokaro General Hospital in an unconscious state.

Students and teachers of DPS also reached the hospital. However, Neelabh succumbed to his injuries around midnight. Doctors said Dholendu had slipped into coma.

SP Kuldeep Dwivedi conceded that the SUV might have been speeding but stressed that a helmet could have saved Neelabh’s life. “The boy died of critical head injuries. There were few wounds on the rest of his body. I will call upon school principals to educate students on how important it is to wear helmets while riding two-wheelers. The district police will also launch a campaign,” the SP said.

DPS adviser Hemlata S. Mohan, who is out of town, offered her condolences. She said the cradle had strictly forbidden students from bringing two-wheelers to campus and, time and again, advised parents not to let teenagers ride scooters and bikes. “We are sad for Neelabh and are praying for our student’s (Dholendu) speedy recovery. Once I return to Bokaro, I will initiate a fresh campaign on traffic rule awareness,” she added.

DPS held a condolence meeting on Wednesday morning.

Sources in the school said Neelabh — the only son of a bank manager in Chapra (Bihar) — was good in studies. So was Dholendu, whose father is a teacher in Deoghar.

Mithilesh Kumar, who reached Bokaro to receive Neelabh’s body, said his teenaged son was aspiring to crack the IIT-JEE this year. “He called me and my wife yesterday and said his chemistry paper went off very well. He said he was expecting to score 95 per cent,” the bereaved father said.

“My wife is in a state of shock ever since she heard the news. I don’t know how my two daughters will react when they see their only brother’s body,” he added.

Dholendu’s father Bibhas Pandey and his elder brother, who is a software engineer, were too traumatised to speak to the media.

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