One dead, 6 injured as cab driver goes berserk in Noida

The driver of the cab has been arrested and his medical tests are being carried out to ascertain whether he was under influence of alcohol or drugs

A 34-year-old man died while six others were injured after an overspeeding cab allegedly hit multiple vehicles near Parthala roundabout in Noida, officials said on Wednesday.

The police informed that one of the victims, Himanshu, succumbed to his injuries during treatment. (Picture for representation)

The driver of the cab has been arrested and his medical tests are being carried out to ascertain whether he was under influence of alcohol or drugs.

According to the police, the incident took place around 10:30pm on Tuesday near the busy Parthala market, under Sector 113 police station limits.

“We received a call about the accident from a passerby after which a police team was rushed to the spot. We came to know that a car, which was being driven at a breakneck speed had rammed into several vehicles, following which seven people were injured and taken to the hospital,” said Ranvijay Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police, Noida.

After investigation, it was found that the cab driver first hit a bike on which three people — driver Himanshu Srivastav, (32), pillion rider Priya (his wife) and their three-year-old son Krishna were travelling, police said.

“After hitting the bike, the cab rammed into an ice cream cart where the vendor, identified as Ranjeet Sarkar, and a pedestrian, identified as Varun Kashyap, were injured. The speeding Ertiga car collided with another four-wheeler in which two more people, identified as Harsh Makkar and Seema, were injured,” said Singh.

“Police teams were formed to nab the suspect who was driving the cab, owned by Mithla taxi service. The accused was identified as Rajnikant, (34), and our team nabbed him a few distance away from the incident,” said Sharad Kant, station in-charge of Sector 113 police station. The accused is a native of Firozabad district in Uttar Pradesh and currently resided in Gijhore village in Noida, police added.

The police informed that one of the victims, Himanshu, succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

“Himanshu and his family members were referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi before he succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Based on a complaint filed by his brother Shivanshu, a case has been registered against Rajnikant under sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by act of endangering life), 388 (extortion by threat of accusation of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life) and 304-A (death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” said Singh.