Dubai: A six-year-old Indian boy, who was crushed to death under the wheels of a 4X4 in Murshid Bazaar near the Gold Souq on Saturday, was laid to rest on Sunday evening.
Yala Mohtisham, the youngest of four sons of Dubai-based Indian trader Yusha Mohtisham, died when a motorist inadvertently ploughed into him in one of the congested internal lanes near the souq.
The grade two student of Our Own English High School Dubai was riding a bicycle on his way back from a Quran class when he was killed. The accident happened just a few metres away from the building where the family lived.
According to Dubai Police, the accident occurred when the child suddenly rode in front of an oncoming vehicle, giving the driver little time to react.
In a statement, Brigadier Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, director of Dubai Traffic Police, said: “The Indian driver was startled when he ran over the child and, in his confusion, reversed the vehicle and drove over the boy again.”
Speaking to Gulf News, Yala’s uncle said that the boy was born and brought up in Dubai and the family has been living in the area for long.
“Yala went to the Quran classes daily, riding his bicycle for the last two years. The Quran school is just a 10-minute ride away and he always reaches home safely. We just don’t know what went wrong on Saturday. We can’t believe he is no more with us,” said the uncle.
Shopkeepers in the busy marketplace, which is the playground for many boys like Yala who live in the neighbourhood, remember Yala as a cheerful boy.
“Most shopkeepers in the vicinity knew him. He was the kind of a boy who would bring a smile to your face every time you saw him and it was really horrific to see him die this way,” said Mohammad, a shopkeeper, who witnessed the tragedy.
Hours after his son’s unfortunate death, Yala’s father, Yusha, posted an emotional tribute on social media that moved readers to tears.
Posting the lengthy tribute in Urdu on the night of Yala’s death, Yusha wrote: “O my love, how will the night pass without you? Who will fill my empty lap now, who will I tell bedtime stories? There is no happiness without you, the garden of our life has become barren without the cool breeze that was you.”
He reminisced the innocent moments spent with the six year old and the pranks he played.
“Being the youngest in the family, Yala was most loved and had his way more often then not. He was the apple of his parents’ eyes. He was inquisitive and full of life, always making his presence felt whether at home or anywhere else,” said his uncle.
Yala was laid to rest in the Al Quoz graveyard, with more than 300 members of the Nawayath community he belonged to in attendance.
