E-Paper
Chandigarh: Cops grope in dark in hit-n-run case due to CCTV’s ‘blocked’ view
The deceased Lekhraj Chawla, a resident of Sector 70, Mohali, was a heart patient, and had come to the hospital with his wife Naresh Kumari. They were returning home after purchasing medicines when an unidentified vehicle hit their Activa scooter.
Two days after a 62-year-old man was killed and his wife critically injured in a hit-and-run incident outside the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), police are groping in the dark about the vehicle involved in the accident. Reason: The accident spot was not within the range of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, and the closest camera, installed near Vidya Marg in Sector 15, was unable to capture the incident as tree branches obscured its view.
The deceased Lekhraj Chawla, a resident of Sector 70, Mohali, was a heart patient, and had come to the hospital with his wife Naresh Kumari. They were returning home after purchasing medicines when an unidentified vehicle hit their Activa scooter.
Around 11:25pm, their son Devinder Chawla, 23, had received a distressing call informing him that his parents had met with an accident near PGI Chowk. The caller reported that an unknown vehicle had hit the couple’s scooter.
Both victims were rushed to PGI for treatment. Tragically, Lekhraj was declared dead upon arrival. Kumari sustained severe head injuries and remains in a critical condition.
Police say the lack of CCTV footage is hampering their investigation and they are left to rely solely on eyewitness accounts for leads.
Following the complaint from the victims’ son, police have registered a case against an unidentified driver under Sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 11 police station.
