Man arrested for flashing women near Delhi-Meerut Expressway, causing death of one in road accident

The incident took place on the afternoon of September 9 and the injured woman died at a hospital in Delhi on September 13

The Ghaziabad police on Thursday arrested a 34-year-old man, a former personnel of a central police force, on charges of flashing two women near the Delhi-Meerut Expressway on September 9. One of the women chased him on to the highway and was hit by a speeding car, leaving her grievously injured. She succumbed to injuries four days later, police said.

The suspect in custody. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The incident took place on the afternoon of September 9 and the injured woman died at a hospital in Delhi on September 13.The woman’s husband got an FIR registered at Masuri police station on September 26 and police took up investigation.

The police booked the unidentified biker under Indian Penal Code Section (IPC) 354a (sexual harassment), 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) while they booked the unidentified car driver under IPC section 279 (rash driving) and 304a (causing death by negligence).

The police identified the arrested biker as Ankit Chaudhary, a resident of Jalalabad in Ghaziabad’s Muradnagar.

“Chaudhary served with a central police force from 2012 to 2020 and later started looking after his agricultural fields. On the day of the incident, he parked his bike on the expressway and went down towards the two women who were working in the nearby fields. He flashed them and made obscene gestures at them. When the two objected, he ran to the expressway and tried to flee towards Meerut. At some distance, he noticed traffic police personnel and returned on the wrong side to the spot where the women were working. Then the two women nabbed him but he pushed them away and fled. The woman gave chase and came under a speeding car proceeding towards Meerut on the expressway,” said Vivek Chandra Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (rural).

The 26-year-old injured woman was taken to a nearby private hospital from where she was referred to GTB Hospital in Delhi where she succumbed to injuries on September 13.

The police said the investigation revealed that the car was driven by a driver and the vehicle owner was present in the car.

“The car owner is from Indirapuram and has been identified. After the incident, the car owner took the injured woman to the hospital. We have issued notices to him and his driver to join the investigation. Suspect Chaudhary has been arrested. He is married but has a marital discord with his wife and this also led him to leave the police force,” the DCP said.

Woman’s husband said the couple has three minor children, with two daughters aged 3 and 7 and a son aged 5 years.

“Due to financial issues and in order to get milk for our children, my wife reared cattle and had gone to the fields near the expressway to get fodder. After the incident, I received a call from the other woman who was accompanying my wife. I got late in registering the FIR as I was busy performing her last rites and other formalities,” he said.

The police said they scanned the CCTV footage from the expressway and identified the biker. The DCP said motorcycles are banned on the expressway and they will send a communication to the traffic police to issue a fine against Chaudhary for violating the no-entry rule and also for driving on the wrong side.

The police said they also recorded the statements of the second woman.