Delhi: 27-year-old law student arrested for hit-and-run in Greater Kailash-1

The suspect, Raj Sunderam, a law student, hit 37-year-old Anant Vijay Mandelia with his speeding car on a road connecting B and M blocks in GK-1 on Tuesday evening, said police

The police on Friday arrested a 27-year-old law student and booked him for attempted murder after he mowed down a man with this car and dragged him on the bonnet for at least 100 metres in Greater Kailash-1 earlier this week. The suspect’s father, a retired bureaucrat, was also booked later in the day for harbouring his son, said police officers involved in the investigation.

A screengrab of the incident. (Picture for representation only)

The suspect, Raj Sunderam, a law student, hit 37-year-old Anant Vijay Mandelia with his speeding car on a road connecting B and M blocks in GK-1 on Tuesday evening, said police officers. CCTV footage of the incident, which HT has accessed, showed the injured man hurt on the road, and the mustard-coloured car speeding away. The medico-legal case (MLC) report showed that the suspect was driving at 100km/hour.

Mandelia was taken to a private hospital, where he is being treated for his injuries and is stable.

Sunderam was arrested outside the Le Meridian Hotel in Gurugram’s Sector 26 on Friday.

The police said the suspect he had been changing locations since the accident to avoid arrest. On Thursday, when the police visited his GK-1 B Block residence after getting the registration details of the vehicle, they found the car parked, but neither Sunderam nor his father were home. The vehicle was seized at the time.

Police said the two were finally traced outside the Gurugram hotel, and added that they are probing if there were others nearby who may have helped them evade arrest or tamper with evidence.

The victim’s family runs a farming business, Delhi Police officers said.

One of the eye-witnesses was the victim’s driver, Rampal Singh Negi (45), who said his employer had stepped out of his house and was walking down the road when a car that was “zig-zagging at a high speed” hit him from behind.

“He fell on to the bonnet and screamed for help, but the driver did not stop. We started to run behind the car to save him. Finally, after almost 100 metres, the driver slowed down, and he [Mandelia] fell on the road. The man [the driver of the car] didn’t stop and took off towards M Block. We immediately rushed him to the hospital and informed the family about his accident,” said Negi.

The Delhi Police were initially investigating the incident as a hit-and-run case, but later added sections of culpable homicide and attempt to murder to the first information report (FIR).

“Sections 308 (punishment for attempt to commit culpable homicide), 307 (punishment for attempt to murder) and 212 (punishment for harbouring offender) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) have also been added in the case on the basis of facts that emerged during investigation,” deputy commissioner of police (south) Benita Mary Jaiker said.

He was earlier booked under IPC sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), said officers aware of the matter.

“Facts mentioned in the FIR, including dragging on the bonnet of car, statements of the witnesses, and the suspect’s conduct after the incident were some of the reasons why the [additional] sections were added,” Jaiker added.

Meanwhile, Sunderam’s father, Pandian Kalyanasundaram, a retired joint secretary with the petroleum ministry, was “bound down” under Section 212 of the IPC.

When a person is bound down, they are temporarily released on bail, but have to join the investigation when summoned. Before the temporary release, the person will have to have sign on a form where the terms of the bound-down (usually they are permitted to do while out on bail) are mentioned.

While the police did not reveal their findings over the course of investigations since Tuesday, residents of the south Delhi area said Sunderam was trying to exact revenge on Mandelia, who reportedly asked the former not to speed his car on the road.

A message posted on a local GK-1 WhatsApp groups said, “While out for his evening walk, Anant asked two young men in an SUV who were racing their car on the main road to be careful. Unfortunately, they decided to retaliate by mowing him down with his vehicle.”

Rajiv Kakria, a member of the GK-1 resident welfare association (RWA) said, “Colony roads or even arterial roads around are not designed for vehicles speeding on it, but we often find cars and bikes moving at very high speed. There is a need to sensitise youngsters against and make them aware of the consequences of rash and negligent driving,” he said.