A 55-year-old man died while four others were injured after a speeding car hit their auto-rickshaw in northwest Delhi’s Britannia Chowk in the early hours of Monday. Police said the car was driven by a 21-year-old Delhi University student from west Delhi, who also sustained injuries and has been booked for rash driving and causing death by negligence.
According to police, the car hit head-on into the side of the auto-rickshaw and dragged it toward the footpath where both vehicles crashed. A PCR call was made around 2.20am by locals who saw four or five men lying injured inside the damaged auto, while the car was also partially wrecked, they added.
“We rushed to the spot and found two damaged vehicles. The caller had said several individuals were injured and taken to Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital,” said Bhisham Singh, deputy commissioner of police (Northwest). The car involved was a Maruti Suzuki Brezza. Police staff who reached the hospital found four medico-legal cases registered, including that of the auto driver, Mohd Ahsan, who said he had been ferrying three men.
The passengers were identified as Md Sufiullah, Mohd Abdul Raheem, and Md Kaon — all workers at Ghazipur Mandi shops. “The auto was headed to Shakurpur from Ghazipur Mandi. At Britannia Chowk, a speeding car hit the side and crushed the auto. All passengers sustained injuries. Sufiullah later succumbed during treatment,” said a first investigating officer.Police said the auto driver has been discharged from the hospital, while the other victims, who suffered multiple injuries, remain under treatment.
Sufiullah, a resident of Shakurpur, is survived by his wife and three children. “My father was on his way home from work. We were waiting for him when police called. At the hospital, they told me he had died… No one could recognise his face,” said his son, Akeef.
The accused, Ankit Jindal, who owns a valid driving licence, was driving back from a restaurant in Punjabi Bagh. “He was unfit to give a statement on Tuesday. We have arrested him and registered a case at Subash Place police station,” said the investigating officer. Police said the car is registered to his father. Jindal and his father are yet to be questioned, they added.
According to police, Jindal was tested for intoxication following the incident, but results confirmed he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
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