Gurgaon: A 36-year-old resident of Faridabad died after his scooter collided with a stray cow around 4 am Tuesday. The incident, captured on CCTV, showed the animal sitting in the middle of the NIT-3 road before Ashu Khatri, who was returning home after meeting a friend, crashed into it. He was thrown off his vehicle and hit a divider.Ashu’s uncle, Ashok Khatri, said the family believes he lay unconscious for some time before passersby spotted him and took him to a nearby private hospital. He was then referred to BK Hospital but died on the way.The Sector-3 police post in charge said cops collected statements from the family and initiated proceedings under BNSS Section 174. The body was handed over after a postmortem.Ashu had been working in the sale and purchase of two-wheelers for about a decade. He got married last year and lived in NIT-5 with his elder brother, parents and wife.Ashu’s death has renewed concerns over the danger posed by unclaimed cattle roaming Faridabad’s roads. Last week, a speeding truck ran over a herd of cattle sitting on Sector-18 Old Road, killing six cows on the spot. Locals and cow vigilantes set the truck on fire, following which police registered an FIR and arrested the 50-year-old driver from Nuh.In April, a stray animal attacked a woman and her two minor daughters on a road in Sector 15A, seriously injuring all three.According to official figures, since 2024, around 20 accidents involving stray cattle have been reported in Faridabad, leaving around 15 people injured. In Aug 2024, a property dealer was killed in Bharat Colony. A case was registered at Kheripul police station against Municipal Corporation of Faridabad officials, but no arrests have been made in two years.Municipal health officer Nitish Parwal said an ongoing strike by civic workers has affected MCF’s ability to take effective action against stray cattle. “We have now increased the number of vehicles to pick up the animals from two to nine. This will help us cover larger parts of Faridabad,” he said.Last month, MCF announced that cattle owners who release animals onto public roads after milking them would face FIRs and hefty fines instead of only monetary penalties. Officials said, however, that no such FIR had been registered yet.
