Nilofer Saiyyed says her father struggled all his life to give her good education
Mohd. Sayed Hussain, 56, drove a taxi for nearly 30 years. In all these years, he had not been in a single accident. That changed on Tuesday after 35-year-old
Jahnavi Gadkar, driving an Audi allegedly on the wrong side of the road, hit his taxi in a head-on collision on Mumbai's Eastern Freeway. Mr Hussain did not survive.
His daughter Nilofer Saiyyed who works as a therapist in the United Kingdom broke down on hearing the news. She says her father struggled all his life to give her good education.
Speaking to NDTV in an exclusive interview, Nilofer said, "He was the only one. Now that he is not here, what do we do? What is my mother going to do after this?"
She said the accident came as even a bigger shock to the family because her father had never been in even a minor accident in the last 30 years.
"This is absolutely horrendous. My dad has been working as a cab driver for a long long time. He has been driving for over 25 years and he has been the safest pair of hands behind the wheel. He has worked extremely hard all his life and he has never had any accident. Not even a minor accident."
Nilofer's husband Shafi Sayed, who also lives in the UK told NDTV, "We heard that she (the accused) was happy to pay off and get rid of this scenario. She apparently said take the money and let me go. It does not make sense.
The front of Sayed Hussain's vehicle took the maximum impact. Gas cutters had to be called to retrieve his body. The family said no one from the authorities reached out to them.
"We haven't even heard from the police. They have not even acknowledged us. No one has even turned up to say what has happened. Just because he was a cab driver it does not mean that he has no existence. It is nonsense, what were the police doing?" said Nilofer.
Speaking about the woman accused of causing the accident, Nilofer said, "She is a lawyer herself. She knows what she is doing. She knows the law. She thinks whatever she does, she can bend the rules. She thinks she go around the corners and get away with what she has done. It is shameful."
Sayed Hussain worked hard to ensure that his only daughter gets proper education. He even worked in UAE and Saudi Arabia for a few years. His daughter said she will "ensure justice father for her father".
"Irresponsible is small word to describe what has happened. How can you do this? This happens because people have an attitude that is India and anything can be done. This is the attitude people have in India. That is the main reason why people think that drinking and driving is okay. Because they think, at the end of the day, if they have money they can get away with it. People need to change their attitude, she said, while appealing for a strict punishment for the accused.