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Gurugram bike crash accused arrested in Rajasthan; murder attempt charge added
Following the accident, Kalyan Bainsla claimed that the collision was not intentional and that he fled from the spot out of fear of a mob attack.
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Hours after he was charged with attempt to murder in the case, main accused in the Gurugram bike crash, Kalyan Bainsla, was arrested in Rajasthan by police on Tuesday.
Initially, an FIR was registered on Monday under sections 125 and 281 of BNS. Section 125 pertains to an act endangering the life or personal safety of others, while Section 281 pertains to rash driving.
The Gurugram Police then added Section 109 of BNS, which is an attempt to murder charge, in the FIR.
Why the arrest?
Deep Dive
His arrest comes after video of a Delhi woman, identified as Sia, riding a motorcycle on Gurugram’s Golf Course Road went viral. In the video, now accused Bainsla, is seen allegedly ramming his car into her following a road-rage incident.
The footage went viral, prompting Gurugram police to take suo motu cognisance of the matter.
According to police, the incident occurred early Sunday while Sia was riding her Aprilia sportbike with a group of riders. She alleged that the driver of a white Maruti Ciaz began chasing her and repeatedly signalled her to stop after driving dangerously close to her.
“He had started chasing me on the Golf Course Road. I asked him to drive while maintaining distance. He kept making hand gestures, ordering me to stop my bike,” she said in the video.
Sia, in her Instagram video, alleged that they all were drunk and she tried her best to maintain distance from the car.
“My friend tried to cover it during the ride so that the car could not approach me to intercept but it rammed me,” she said.
‘Collision was accidental’
Following the accident, Bainsla claimed that the collision was not intentional and that he fled from the spot out of fear of a mob attack.
"I was travelling with my family. I didn't make any gestures at the young woman; I simply asked her to ride her bike slowly. I admit that a collision occurred. Had I stopped right then, those people would have beaten us up," Bainsla was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
He said that he told Sia and her friend to slow down, adding that he did not hit them intentionally.
"She was turning without checking her mirrors; just then, near a U-turn, I lost control of the car, and the collision occurred. It was my fault; I admit it," he said.
However, the biker and her father tell a different story, continuing to claim that the collision was deliberate.
"This is also a matter of women's safety. We will soon lodge a complaint with the police, and strict action must be taken against such individuals," the father told ANI.
‘Want followers’: Lawyer of accused shifts blame
Bainsla's lawyer pinned the blame for the accident on the woman biker, saying that the video was a stunt to gain followers on social media.
"You see the video of the woman, see it on social media, the woman is driving at a speed of 140-170 kmph on the bike. This road is not for stunts, this road is not for speed," he said. "It is being publicised to stir controversy. It is a woman who wants followers, who wants views, who wants publicity," the lawyer was quoted as saying by NDTV.
He added that the occupant had three other people in the car with him at the time of the incident, and they were returning from Delhi after meeting relatives.
"The mistake was not on our part, we saved the footpath, the girl came right, we went a little left, and that is how the crash happened," the lawyer said, adding that the reason the four people in the car fled was due to the fear of a possible "lynching."
‘Why didn't you apologise'
Sia, who suffered the fall after the crash, questioned the Bainsla's claim that he felt sorry after allegedly ramming his car into the bike.
In a second video posted, Sia said, "“If you felt so sorry for me, why did you not stop at that time?” asked the woman, who identifies herself as Sia on Instagram, in a second video uploaded on social media late on Monday. She added that it was Bainsla’s responsibility to stop after hitting someone and check whether she needed medical help.
Sia posted the video after Bainsla told a TV channel that he did not know a woman was riding the motorcycle and he did not hit her intentionally. “I felt sorry for her after the incident. She was repeatedly accelerating and then slowing down,” he said.
Sia's family breaks silence
Sia's family broke their silence about the incident on Tuesday, revealing its aftermath. Her brother, while speaking to news agency ANI, said she was going through something similar to “trauma”, while claiming that there were “four drunk people” in the vehicle which had hit her. Her brother said Sia's lawyer had spoken to the station house officer about further legal action in the incident.
Sia's father said he had come to know of the incident on Monday, adding that he would have filed an FIR if he was informed about it earlier. Gurugram had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and registered an FIR after a video posted by Sia with her voiceover narrating the ordeal was circulated widely on social media.
