SUV rams 5 cars, 1 bike outside Noida mall; none hurt

“His (the driver’s) medical examination confirmed that he was in an inebriated condition,” said assistant commissioner of police (Noida) Twinkle Jain

Noida: A total of six vehicles – five cars and a two-wheeler – were damaged when a luxury SUV, allegedly being driven by a man under the influence of alcohol, crashed into them outside a shopping mall in Noida’s Sector 129 late on Wednesday night, police said on Thursday, adding that no casualties were reported in the incident.

A passerby reported the incident at the nearby Sector 129 police outpost, after which a police team rushed to the spot and detained the driver. (HT Photo)

The driver of the green Land Rover Defender was identified as realtorSunil Chouhan, a resident of Sector 100, Noida. The vehicle is registered under his son’s name, police said.

“Around 11pm, when Chouhan was returning home from Sector 135, he lost control of the vehicle in Sector 129 and rammed into five cars – two parked on the service road outside a shopping mall, and three that were moving on the road. A motorcycle was also damaged in the incident,” said an officer, who rushed to be the spot following the accident, requesting anonymity.

A passerby reported the incident at the nearby Sector 129 police outpost, after which a police team rushed to the spot and detained the driver. A case has been registered at the Expressway police station.

“His medical examination confirmed that he was in an inebriated condition,” said assistant commissioner of police (Noida) Twinkle Jain.

The incident caused a long queue of vehicles on the service road outside the mall, as the damaged cars were pushed in the middle of the road. Police moved the damaged vehicles with the help of multiple cranes.

As the accident left the SUV’s wheels locked, it took the police five hours to somehow tow it away to a nearby outpost. “We were informed that the SUV wheels could be unlocked using a mobile application installed on Chouhan’s phone. But his phone was switched off due to low battery. Later, Chouhan was sent to the police station and he unlocked the car using his phone,” said the officer, adding that the car could be towed away to the police outpost around 5am.

“On the complaint of a car owner, Sobhit Tyagi, a case under Sections 281 (rash driving) and 324(4) (mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered against Chouhan, and a notice has been served to him as arresting is not allowed in these sections,” said ACP Jain, adding that further investigation is underway.

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