New Delhi , April 8: A speeding BMW left a 62-year-old morning walker dead in an east Delhi locality when the car crashed into a wall before turning turtle on Thursday morning.
The incident triggered widespread protests in the area and locals blocked traffic for nearly three hours. The protesters alleged that the local police of Pandav Nagar, instead of rushing the injured man to hospital, came to the rescue of three occupants of a “luxury car”. The police, however, denied the allegations, claiming that a PCR van reached the spot on time to take the victim to hospital where he was declared brought dead.
The incident triggered massive protests with locals demanding action against the policemen and the driver who was involved in the incident. They were later pacified by senior Delhi police officers, including Additional deputy commissioner of police I.B. Rani, who visited the spot and reassured protesters that proper action would be taken.
The deceased, Om Dutt Chauhan, a resident of Pandav Nagar, was on his morning walk on National Highway 24, near Akshardham temple, with his son Mahesh, 40, when the accident took place. Chauhan was reportedly answering nature’s call below the Noida flyover when an “out of control” BMW vehicle allegedly driven by Raman Singhla, a businessman, and carrying two other occupants crashed into the wall at 6.15 am. “Instead of rushing my father to the hospital, the police officers found it convenient to take the occupants of a luxury car to the police station first,” alleged Mahesh Chauhan, the deceased’s son.
“He was writhing in pain for three hours but there was no initiative by the cops to take him to a hospital. He was left unattended and the cops got busy with the occupants of the BMW,” an eyewitness said.
The police, however, claimed that a PCR had arrived at the spot immediately and had rushed Chauhan to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. The police said Mr Singhla, 27, a resident of Dayanand Nagar in Preet Vihar area, had been on his way along with his father Babu Ram and a friend, Deepak Kapoor, to pick up his brother from Ghaziabad railway station. The Singhlas reportedly own a popular chain of Indian sweetmeat outlets in east Delhi’s Patparganj and other areas. The police has registered a case of rash and negligent driving and Mr Singhla has been arrested.
Jehangir Ali