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2 arrested in connection with Bulandshahr topper’s death case in UP
Santosh Kumar Singh, senior superintendent of police, Bulandshahr, said on Sunday the police scanned over 350 bikes from nearby areas and questioned over 1000 persons before zeroing in on the suspects.
The Bulandshahr police have arrested two people in connection with the death of US scholar Sudeeksha Bhati, 19, who died in a road accident on August 10.
The suspects were identified as Deepak Solanki, a resident of Gulaothi, and his accomplice Raju, a resident of Bulandshahr dehat. The police have recovered the Royal Enfield motorcycle used in the accident.
The police said its investigation revealed this was a case of road accident and not of harassment.
Santosh Kumar Singh, senior superintendent of police, Bulandshahr, said on Sunday the police scanned over 350 bikes from nearby areas and questioned over 1000 persons before zeroing in on them.
“The police scanned 12 CCTV cameras and found Sudeeksha and her cousin going on a bike at 8.25 am. The same camera captured an Enfield rider Solanki at 8.17 am on the same route. About 150 metres ahead, Solanki picked up his accomplice Raju from near Arif Hospital. The duo stopped at a petrol pump for fuel and Sudeeksha’s bike crossed the way,” he said. “The two bikes were moving in the same direction. The two motorcycles travelled 10.5 kilometres in 9 minutes on a busy road. This shows that both the motorcycles were speeding,” he said.
Solanki admitted that he was riding the motorcycle on August 10 when the accident took place, said police. Solanki said that a tempo traveller going ahead suddenly applied brakes because a bullock cart was in its way. The bullock cart owner Kamal Singh was also traced who said that he was going with his wife Saroj to sell wheat in the Aurangabad Mandi.
“We have seized the Royal Enfield motorcycle used in the accident. The suspect had also modified the motorcycle’s number plate, silencer, indicator, etc,” said police.
On August 10, Bhati, who was due to return to the United States, had gone to Bulandshahr with her uncle Satyendra and cousin on a motorcycle to meet her relatives.
Sudeeksha Bhati, a tea seller’s daughter, was a district topper in Bulandshahr in 2018. She had scored 98% in her Class 12 examination in 2018 and was awarded a scholarship to study at Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts.
The family had alleged that she was harassed by two men before she died in a tragic road accident.
Her uncle Manoj Bhati earlier told reporters that the two men started “performing stunts near them” and would overtake them, then let them pass. At one point, the men stopped their bike just in front of their two-wheeler. Manoj Bhati said he applied the brakes but nevertheless, lost control. Sudeeksha sustained injuries and died later.
