New Delhi, Sep 26 A 21-year-old man was arrested after his car allegedly rammed into an auto-rickshaw and a cycle-rickshaw in southeast Delhi’s Sukhdev Vihar, killing the 45-year-old auto driver and injuring another man, police said on Saturday.
The incident occurred around 7 am near the Masihgarh red light towards the Sukhdev Vihar Metro Station, they said.
Eyewitnesses claimed that two cars were racing each other when one rammed into an auto-rickshaw.
The deceased was identified as Md Kalam, a resident of New Friends Colony, who was declared dead at the Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, police said.
The injured man was identified as Md Bablu, who was sitting in his rickshaw at the time of the accident. He was taken to the Holy Family Hospital for treatment, they said.
According to police, preliminary investigation revealed that the offending car, bearing a Delhi registration number, first rammed Kalam’s auto-rickshaw before hitting the cycle-rickshaw.
An FIR has been registered at the New Friends Colony police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), police said.
Mohd Talib, 21, the driver of the offending car, was arrested after interrogation as the investigators found sufficient grounds against him, police said.
An eyewitness claimed that the two cars were racing moments before the crash.
Jeet, an eyewitness who was on his way to work, told PTI that he had stopped for tea and was leaving at around 7 am when he heard a loud noise.
“I turned to see that an accident had happened. Two cars were racing each other, one of which rammed the auto. The other car fled at a high speed,” Jeet said.
He said the auto-rickshaw driver died on the spot, while the car also hit a cycle-rickshaw, injuring its rider.
“The car was coming from the flyover side and going towards Shaheen Bagh. You can guess the speed by the impact on the auto. There were three to four men in the car. They fled as soon as the incident happened (leaving behind the vehicle),” Jeet said.
A video recorded by a passerby showed the extent of the damage caused in the crash. The car was found badly damaged, with its airbag deployed and glass and bonnet broken. Items inside the vehicle were also damaged, while the occupants abandoned it and fled.
The auto-rickshaw was severely crushed, and Kalam could be seen lying unconscious on the road in the video.
Police are examining CCTV camera footage and other evidence to ascertain the sequence of events and verify the eyewitness accounts about street racing, besides establishing the role of the other occupants, if any.
(PTI News)
