Three leave friend to die after accident in Delhi, arrested

Four friends were travelling in an auto-rickshaw that overturned near the Gagan Cinema traffic signal in Nand Nagri, and the 17-year-old, identified as Nitesh Gupta, came under the vehicle

Two men were arrested and a minor boy was apprehended for abandoning their critically injured 17-year-old friend on a footpath to die in east Delhi, police officers aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence with common intention was registered at the Nand Nagri police station under Indian Penal Code. (Representational Image)

The incident occurred on the intervening night of March 7 and March 8 (Holi) at Kasturba Nagar, the officers said. Four friends were travelling in an auto-rickshaw that overturned near the Gagan Cinema traffic signal in Nand Nagri, and the 17-year-old, identified as Nitesh Gupta, came under the vehicle.

Passersby then helped the four by lifting and putting upright the three-wheeler, and Nitesh’s friends started to take the injured 17-year-old to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital. However, on the way, Nitesh’s condition worsened, and his friends panicked and abandoned him on a footpath in Kasturba Nagar, police said.

“On March 8, a passerby found the body and informed the Vivek Vihar police station. The body was shifted to the mortuary of the GTB hospital for identification and autopsy,” said a senior police officer, offering details of the case.

During the enquiry, the officer said, the Vivek Vihar police station team identified the dead teenager as Nitesh Gupta, a resident of Nand Nagri. Police learnt that Nitesh had left home on March 7 with his friends. Thereafter, nearby CCTV cameras were scanned and three people with him were identified as Pawan, Brij Mohan and a minor boy.

Subsequently, the officer said, the three friends were examined and the entire sequence of events was learnt.

“The injured boy succumbed to his injuries on the footpath. He may have survived had his friends not dumped him on the footpath and admitted him to the hospital, where he could have got timely medical attention,” the officer said.

Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said, “A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence with common intention was registered at the Nand Nagri police station under Indian Penal Code’s sections 304, 201 and 34. Pawan and Brij Mohan, both 22, were arrested while the minor boy was apprehended. The arrested adults were sent to jail. The minor boy was produced before the juvenile justice board.”