GCR road rage suspect identified; probe ordered into 26-day FIR delay

Police identified the suspect as Swayam Sharma, a resident of Aya Nagar in Delhi. He is currently in hospital undergoing treatment for dengue and is under police custody

Police on Thursday identified the SUV driver accused of abusing a woman and her daughter and damaging their car during a road-rage incident on Golf Course Road on August 27, even as senior officers ordered a departmental inquiry into the 26-day delay in registering an FIR in the case.

The dash cam footage showed the suspect taking out a rod and using it to smash the headlights of the women’s car. (HT)

Police identified the suspect as Swayam Sharma, a resident of Aya Nagar in Delhi.

Sandeep Turan, public relations officer of Gurugram police, said a police team reached Sharma’s residence on Thursday but found that he was undergoing treatment for dengue at a private hospital.

“He has been placed in police custody with cops deployed at the hospital. He will be arrested as soon as doctors declare him medically fit,” Turan said.

Senior police officers said the departmental inquiry will examine why there was such a delay in registering the FIR despite the woman having dashcam footage of the alleged road-rage incident and approaching police with a complaint immediately after it took place on the night of August 27.

Dharambir Singh, assistant commissioner of police (Sadar), said on Thursday that responsibility would be fixed after the inquiry and necessary departmental action taken against the officers found at fault.

“The victim had met me on Tuesday and aired her grievance that no action was taken in her case,” he said.

Singh said he immediately ordered that an FIR be registered based on the woman’s complaint, following which a case was registered at the Sector 56 police station.

The woman, 45, and her daughter, 24, were travelling in their Swift car from their residence in Sector 55 towards the Sector 54 Rapid Metro station on the night of August 27 when a black Scorpio bearing a temporary registration number allegedly rammed their car near AIT Chowk.

The suspect later allegedly blocked their path with the Scorpio, verbally abused them, pulled out a rod from his vehicle and smashed their car’s headlight before fleeing.

The woman alleged that she had continuously followed up with officials at the Sector 56 police station after filing a complaint immediately after the incident.

“However, they kept giving us excuses that the vehicles bearing temporary registration numbers could not be traced nor the driver identified. They had even cancelled my complaint once. After approaching the senior official, the FIR in our case was finally registered on Tuesday,” she said.

The case has come into focus days after Delhi biker Shivani Chauhan, alias Sia, was allegedly deliberately hit by a motorist following a road-rage incident on Golf Course Road on September 13 while riding with a group of friends.

Shivani uploaded a video of the incident on Instagram, which went viral. Police subsequently took suo motu cognisance and registered an FIR at the Sector 56 police station.

Police also invoked attempt-to-murder charges against prime accused Kalyan Bainsla, who was driving the car, and his cousin Lavnish. The two were arrested from Dausa in Rajasthan within 24 hours and sent to jail after being interrogated during two days of police remand.