No laxity in BMW accident: Police

A day after Om Dutt Chauhan was mowed down by a speeding BMW near the Akshardham temple in east Delhi, the police denied allegations of negligence levelled against them by the 62-year-old’s kin.

A day after Om Dutt Chauhan was mowed down by a speeding BMW near the Akshardham temple in east Delhi, the police denied allegations of negligence levelled against them by the 62-year-old’s kin.

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“We reached the accident spot about seven minutes after the incident was reported. Chauhan... had succumbed to his injuries almost immediately,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.

Chauhan, a retired DTC official and resident of Pandav Nagar, was reportedly on a morning walk with his son, Mahesh (40), on Thursday morning.

The police have also justified whisking away the BMW’s occupants to the nearest police station to prevent them from being lynched by the mob. “Chauhan’s acquaintances had gathered at the spot within minutes. Seeing that he was dead, they started pelting stones at the BMW and wanted to set it ablaze,” he said.

Police said the victim’s kin allegedly refused to let police remove his corpse from the spot.

“Contrary to what has been reported by certain sections of the media, any committee to look into the role of the officers manning the PCR, which had reached the spot, has not been constituted by my directions,” said Dharmendra Kumar, Joint CP (New Delhi range).

He also denied any role of alcohol in the accident, saying the driver was on his way to pick up his elder brother from a railway station, more than 10 km away from the accident site.

Chauhan’s family, however, insisted the police’s claim was false. “My father was alive till after half an hour of being crushed by the speeding car,” said Mahesh.

Police said Chauhan’s body had been sent for post-mortem.