Gurgaon: SUV driver who mowed down special police officer arrested

On being grilled, the accused said he was drunk when he knocked down the officer

The driver of the SUV, which had allegedly mowed down a special police officer (SPO) of Gurgaon police on the intervening night of January 7 and 8, was nabbed by a team of Palam Vihar police on Saturday, and produced in court.

The spot where the SUV hit the police officer on the intervening night of January 7 and 8. (Parveen Kumar/HT FILE)

On being questioned, the accused confessed that he was drunk at the time of the incident. The police also said that the accused was in the business of illegally transporting liquor from Gurgaon to Noida for his employer based in that city.

The accused has been identified as Ghanshyam, a resident of Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh. He was arrested from his hideout in Harisinghpura village in the same district, the police said. It has also been revealed that the accused was employed by Suresh Sharma, a Noida resident who is also likely to be questioned in connection with this case.

Vikram Nehra, station house officer (SHO), Palam Vihar police station, who was chasing the Mahindra Xylo after spotting that it was moving in a suspicious manner, arrested the accused. “He has been taken on remand and would be questioned,” he said.

The Xylo, which was used in the crime, was registered in Sangrur, but had changed hands four to five times, the police said. They said that the owners took the affidavit route to change ownership.

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On the intervening night of January 7 and 8, 34-year old Mukesh Kumar was hit by the Xylo when he tried to stop the vehicle on the direction of senior officers, who were chasing it as it was moving suspiciously. Kumar, who suffered serious injuries in his chest and head, was taken to Columbia Asia hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Shocked by the officer’s death, the Gurgaon police commissioner visited the mortuary and assured the family members that the accused would be caught at the earliest.

Sumit Kuhar, DCP, crime, said that this case was probed on priority, but there was a delay in making the arrest because of the change in ownership of the vehicle. “The matter is being probed further leads,” he said.