Two pedestrians killed in west Delhi hit-and-run

Investigators are now working to identify and locate the driver by examining ownership records of the car and checking CCTV footage from the Zakhira roundabout

A day after two people were hit by a speeding car and dragged under it for a few metres in West Delhi, the victims succumbed to their injuries, police said on Thursday. The driver of the vehicle fled the spot after the incident and has yet to be apprehended.

On Thursday, the two succumbed to their injuries during treatment (Representative photo)

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (west) Sharad Darade identified the victims as Suraj Pal, 74, resident of Zakhira who used to sell peanuts on a cart, and Munni Raj, 48, resident of Nehru Nagar who worked as a painter. On Wednesday, Pal was sitting on one side of the road, near his cart, when the car, a Tata Tiago with Haryana’s registration number, hit him. It then continued on, hitting Raj, before coming to a stop. A third person also suffered minor injuries.

Police said the PCR received a call around 6:10 pm about an accident at the Zakhira roundabout. When a team from Moti Nagar police station reached the site, they found an abandoned Tata Tiago with no sign of the driver.

Another police unit had already taken the victims to the nearby Acharya Shree Bhikshu (ABG) Hospital from where they were referred to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Connaught Place, given the severity of their injuries.

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On Thursday, the two succumbed to their injuries during treatment.

So far, police have taken the vehicle from the accident into custody and have also collected the medico-legal reports of both injured men. However, they were not able to record the victims’ statements.

Based on the initial information, police have registered a first information report (FIR) under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 281 (rash driving) and 125(a) (causing grievous hurt).

A postmortem has been conducted and the bodies of the victims have been handed over to their families.

Investigators are now working to identify and locate the driver by examining ownership records of the Tata Tiago and checking CCTV footage from the Zakhira roundabout. The driver has not been identified yet.

According to the family members of the victims who were present at the spot, the car hit Pal first, dragged him along for a few metres before hitting Raj. The car only stopped after hitting a shutterof a shop on the side of the road.

Pal’s grandson, Brijesh Kumar Sharma, 20, said, “The car was speeding and it first hit my grandfather who was sitting on a stool beside his cart which he has been running for over years. He got dragged under the car.”

It then hit Raj, who was crossing the road, and “he got dragged a bit as well. The car then hit a rickshaw driver, who sustained minor injuries so he fled,” Sharma said. His brother, Varun, was at the cart shop with Pal.

As the locals rushed to help the injured, the driver fled the scene.

Sharma said that his grandfather used to live with him, his two brothers, and mother after his grandmother passed away 15 years ago.

Raj’s brother, Sita Ram, 52, said the victim was coming from a work site in Subhash Nagar and was crossing the road when he was hit. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son. Adding that the son, 22-year-old Mukul, had recently started working, Ram said, “Raj was the sole breadwinner of the family till a few weeks ago.”

Sharma said police had recovered the identification documents of the accused from the car. “Strict action must be taken against him.”