New Delhi
A 22-year-old man from Gurugram died after crashing his car, which he was reportedly driving at a speed of 202kmph, into a tunnel wall on the Dwarka Expressway in southwest Delhi on the day of the Diwali festival, police said on Thursday, citing CCTV footage they recovered that showed the car travelling at a high speed in the run-up to the crash.
Police said the impact was so severe that the victim, Abhinav Singh, got stuck in the car and died of burns as the vehicle caught fire.
Deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Amit Goel said, “The injured person was shifted to Indira Gandhi hospital by NHAI staff where he was declared brought dead... the driver lost control, rammed into a wall, the car jumped to the other side and caught fire. We also later found a Snapchat post from the account of the deceased. It shows the car driving at 202 kmph. His friends had also responded to the post and advised him to slow down.”
A senior police officer, who did not wish to be named, said, “The impact was so severe that the car’s engine was dislodged and thrown some distance away, and the vehicle caught fire. The driver died inside the car.”
Police said the victim was from Bihar’s Muzzafarpur, and was working for a private firm in Gurugram.
{{/usCountry}}Police said the victim was from Bihar’s Muzzafarpur, and was working for a private firm in Gurugram.
{{/usCountry}}Police said Singh had met a friend in Ludhiana, Punjab, and was on his way home to Gurugram on the morning of November 8, when the accident took place. The car was on the Dwarka Expressway tunnel, which connects Dwarka and Yashobhoomi to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport and Gurugram. The vehicle “went out of control” and hit a tunnel wall, according to the police.
The senior officer cited above said, “While the enquiry is still pending, we have been told that the car, a Volkswagen Virtus, did not belong to Singh and he had borrowed it from a friend. We are verifying the identity of the owner and will question him too. There’s also some allegations by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) side that the car may have been modified.”
Police said they have also recorded two to three videos (Snapchat posts) of the car’s speedometer, the road and the car. He had shared the videos with a few friends.
A second officer said, “The tunnel has a speed limit of 80kmph. This was a heavy violation of the speed limit. The tunnel also had CCTV cameras. They show the car moving at an uncontrollable high speed. Eyewitnesses also said the same and that Singh couldn’t control the vehicle while taking a turn.”
The Vasant Kunj (south) police deployed forensic staff to collect evidence, got an autopsy conducted and initiated inquest proceedings under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The victim’s body was handed over to his family.