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Man killed in hit-and-run driven on car roof for 3km in Delhi
The driver of the black SUV kept speeding after the pillion rider was flung after the car hit it, critically injuring the man
The motorcycle rider, who was killed in a hit-and-run incident on KG Marg on Sunday, was allegedly driven for about three kilometres on the roof of the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) which had rammed into his vehicle, before falling off the moving car near Delhi Gate.
Read here: Taxi driver dragged on car’s bonnet for over 2 km in Delhi; FIR filed: Police
The driver of the black SUV kept speeding after the pillion rider was flung after the car hit it, critically injuring the man.
The chilling details emerged on Wednesday after a short video recorded by the prime witness in the case, a scooter rider who was allegedly chasing the speeding car in an attempt to stop it, purportedly showed the deceased being driven on the roof of the Mahindra XUV500. The car bore a registration number of Noida.
HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the clip.
The driver, Harneet Singh Chawla (age not known) who is a Burari-based property dealer, was arrested hours after the accident took place on Sunday at around 12.55am at the KG Marg-Tolstoy Marg traffic junction. He was booked for murder in a case lodged at the Barakhamba police station, officers said.
In his statement to the police, Mohammad Bilal, who could be heard honking in the video, alleged that Chawla did not stop the car despite knowing that the deceased, identified as 30-year-old Deepanshu Verma, was on the roof.
Bilal told the police he saw Verma and his 20-year-old cousin Mukul Verma, arriving on their Yamaha FZ from India Gate side when the two-wheeler was rammed by the black SUV.
“It was an impactful collision…One rider was flung into the air and he fell far away on the road while the other person flew in the air and landed on the car’s roof and with a loud thud,” Bilal, a 22-year-old scrap dealer from Jama Masjid neighbourhood told the police.
The car driver fled towards Ranjeet Singh Flyover, Bilal alleged.
Bilal then asked his friend, who was rising pillion, to get off the scooter and tend to Mukul, while he chased the car, incessantly calling out to the errant driver to stop. But Chawla kept speeding and at times, looked in the rear-view mirror, to keep an eye on him, Bilal alleged.
Mukul suffered serious injuries and continues to remain hospitalised.
While Bilal said he gave up the chase at the end of the flyover as the car disappeared, he managed to record the short video during the chase.
He added that he later got to know from Deepanshu’s family that his body was found near Delhi Gate, almost three kilometres from the accident spot. Bilal said that some people at Delhi Gate also recorded a video of the offending car, which revealed its registration number.
Deepanshu ran a jewellery shop with his parents in Raj Nagar Extension, while Mukul is a law student and lives in Shastri Park. According to the victims’ family, the cousins had gone to Connaught Place on the fateful day to buy jewellery for the shop and have dinner.
Meanwhile, police did not respond to HT’s queries if there was anyone else in the car at the time of the incident, nor did they share how the arrest was made.
The victims’ family alleged foul play in the case, and questioned as to why police did not add other relevant sections in the FIR.
“There is an attempt to weaken the case. The police forcibly deleted the videos recorded by some eyewitnesses at the spot where my brother was dumped,” Unnati, Deepanshu’s sister, alleged. “Police are telling us that Chawla was accompanied by family members, but the eyewitnesses in Delhi Gate told us there were two other young men. It is likely that the people in the car were drunk,” she added.
Read here: Crackdown on parked overage plying vehicles to stop in Delhi: Transport officials
While police did not respond to allegations of foul play in the matter, they said that were yet to ascertain if Chawla was inebriated at the time of the incident. “We are awaiting his blood sample report,” said Pranav Tayal, deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi).