Mumbai, Aug 24 (Mid-day): In a tragic incident, a 25-year-old woman was strangled and dragged to death by her own dupatta, after it got stuck in the wheel of the motorcycle she was on with her husband and 10-month-old daughter.

Although the incident left her gasping for breath and eventually claimed her life, the woman held her baby tight in her arms throughout, and finally put her safely on the ground after the bike came to a halt.

The incident took place on Saturday evening, as the family was heading from their home in Aalevadi village in Boisar, Palghar district, to their native village, Dandi, some 16 km away. The victim, Pranali Dhanu, was riding pillion with her little daughter, Swara, on her lap, while her husband, Akash, was steering the bike.

They had just reached Navapur Naka when Pranali's stole got entangled in the wheel while the other end got wrapped around her neck. She and the 10-month-old were both yanked off the bike and dragged behind it for nearly 15 metres before her husband realised what had happened.

By this point, Pranali was already gasping for breath, but had still managed to prevent any harm to her baby, whom she had held close in her arms the entire time. Only when the bike came to a halt did she place the girl on the ground.

"Despite being dragged for such a distance, Pranali had a very tight grip around her daughter and held her tightly to her chest. She ensured that the girl did not receive a single scratch. Only after the bike stopped did Pranali keep her baby on the road," said a police officer from Tarapur police station, adding that a case of accidental death had been registered in the matter.
Tragedy

The heroic mother was rushed to a government hospital, where she was declared dead by strangulation. "My wife is no more but she saved my angel, Swara. This incident is very shocking for my family. Since my wife and child were with me, I had been driving very carefully, but tragedy struck anyway.

We were planning to have a grand celebration of my wife's birthday on September 26," Akash told mid-day. Misfortune has been following the Dhanu family for some time, revealed a relative. Four years ago, Pranali and Akash got married against the wishes of their parents.

They had been in love since their school days. They had two children - a 2-year-old son and the 10-month-old girl. Akash would support the family with contractual work at Tarapur, MIDC, until he lost the job.

"To see the family through the crisis, Pranali began to make and sell rakhis. It was to sell these rakhis to their relatives that the couple decided to go to their native village. Since Swara could not stay without her mother, they decided to take her along, leaving the two-year-old son, Deepak, with Akash's mother," the relative added.