Woman dies after her hair gets stuck in go-kart, scalp rips off

Chandigarh, Feb 15: A 28-year-old Bathinda woman was killed after her hair was caught in a wheel of a go-kart, tearing her scalp off the head, at an amusement park adjacent to Yadavindra Gardens in Pinjore on Wednesday.

Puneet Kaur was a resident of Rampura Phul in Bathinda and was visiting the park — Aqua Village — along with her husband Amardeep Singh, a farmer, and their two-year-old son along with other family members.

Police said the family was on a vacation and had visited Timber Trail in Parwanoo in the morning after reaching Kharar on Tuesday night. “On their way back from Timber Trail, they decided to visit the amusement park,” said a cop investigating the case.

The Haryana tourism department has leased out the park to a private contractor.

Couple was about to complete first lap

The family had booked four go-karts — open-wheel cars used for recreational purposes — for six members. Puneet and her husband were in the same kart while their child was sitting along with his grandmother. When the first lap of the track was about to conclude, Puneet’s hair got caught in a wheel, said the police.

The incident left everyone shocked and go-karting was stopped immediately. Meanwhile, Puneet was rushed to a private hospital in a critical condition, from where she was referred to General Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula. However, she was declared brought dead.

The police got a call around 5:30pm from the Panchkula hospital. “The family members are yet to record their statements. It will be followed by investigations,” said a police official. The postmortem will be conducted on Thursday.

Safety measures under scanner

“This incident has left everyone shocked,” said Yadavindra Gardens manager Neeraj Gupta. “Usually all safety measures are followed. One person has been tasked with ensuring that all people wear proper head gear and follow other rule before using a go-kart. It is shocking this incident happened.”

Gupta said the Haryana tourism department has leased out the amusement park to a private contractor for 10 years in 2013. “We have shut go-karting and have started a probe at departmental level,” he said.