Chandigarh, March 10: A late night race between a group of friends driving a Range Rover and Toyota Fortuner ended in the death of a stray motorcyclist in Sector 49, Chandigarh, on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.
The victim, Aman Raswanta, 28, hailed from Kotkapura in Punjab’s Faridkot district, about 222km from here.
The driver of the Range Rover, identified as Chamkaur Singh Virk, 29, was let off on bail hours after his arrest, as Section 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is a bailable offence.
Initially, the police had registered a case under Sections 279 (rash and negligent driving) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) at the Sector-49 police station. It was only later in the day on Friday that cops added Section 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) to the FIR.
Son of a transporter, Bant Singh, who runs the company, Dhuri Travels, in Dhuri, Ludhiana, Chamkaur had earlier fled the scene with the help of his friends in the Fortuner, who smashed his vehicle’s sunroof to free him from the mangled SUV.
Police said as per the complainant’s account, Chamkaur and his friends were racing around 2am on Friday, while driving from Chandigarh towards Mohali. But the 29-year-old lost control of his car and hit a Maruti Suzuki Alto, which then rammed an electricity pole on the dividing road of Sectors 48 and 49.
The case was registered on the complaint of the Alto’s driver, Shalinder Pratap, resident of Phase 10, Mohali. He told the police that after crashing into his vehicle, the Range Rover jumped the median and hit a motorcycle.
The motorcyclist, Aman Raswanta, was dragged under the SUV for 50 metres before the vehicle finally stopped after landing on its side on hitting a tree.
Aman was rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, where doctors referred him to Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research. But he was declared brought dead. The autopsy will be conducted on Saturday.
“We have arrested Chamkaur, and are trying to trace the occupants of the Fortuner, who helped him flee the scene after breaking the SUV’s sunroof,” said Jaswinder Singh, deputy superintendent of police (DSP).
“Inspection of Chamkaur’s vehicle revealed a broken sunroof, though the vehicle landed on its side, consolidating the injured eyewitness’s account of Chamkaur’s friends having helped him flee,” said inspector Jaswinder Kaur, station house officer (SHO) of Sector-49 police station.
She added that doctors had ruled out the possibility of the accused being under the influence of alcohol. “But Chamkaur’s blood and urine samples have been sent for tests,” she said.
Broken bike handle, helmet reflect impact
The road where the accident took place has marks that indicate the SUV dragged for 50 metres before its run was stopped by a tree. The broken handle of the motorcycle, broken pieces of Aman’s helmet and smashed glasses reflect the events that transpired.
Such was the impact of the Range Rover’s collision with two vehicles before it overturned that its tyres came off the rims and blood was smeared on the rear and even the safety bags.Initially, the police had registered a case under Sections 279 (rash and negligent driving) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) at the Sector-49 police station. It was only later in the day on Friday that cops added Section 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) to the FIR.
Son of a transporter, Bant Singh, who runs the company, Dhuri Travels, in Dhuri, Ludhiana, Chamkaur had earlier fled the scene with the help of his friends in the Fortuner, who smashed his vehicle’s sunroof to free him from the mangled SUV.
Police said as per the complainant’s account, Chamkaur and his friends were racing around 2am on Friday, while driving from Chandigarh towards Mohali. But the 29-year-old lost control of his car and hit a Maruti Suzuki Alto, which then rammed an electricity pole on the dividing road of Sectors 48 and 49.
The case was registered on the complaint of the Alto’s driver, Shalinder Pratap, resident of Phase 10, Mohali. He told the police that after crashing into his vehicle, the Range Rover jumped the median and hit a motorcycle.
The motorcyclist, Aman Raswanta, was dragged under the SUV for 50 metres before the vehicle finally stopped after landing on its side on hitting a tree.
Aman was rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, where doctors referred him to Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research. But he was declared brought dead. The autopsy will be conducted on Saturday.
“We have arrested Chamkaur, and are trying to trace the occupants of the Fortuner, who helped him flee the scene after breaking the SUV’s sunroof,” said Jaswinder Singh, deputy superintendent of police (DSP).
“Inspection of Chamkaur’s vehicle revealed a broken sunroof, though the vehicle landed on its side, consolidating the injured eyewitness’s account of Chamkaur’s friends having helped him flee,” said inspector Jaswinder Kaur, station house officer (SHO) of Sector-49 police station.
She added that doctors had ruled out the possibility of the accused being under the influence of alcohol. “But Chamkaur’s blood and urine samples have been sent for tests,” she said.
Broken bike handle, helmet reflect impact
The road where the accident took place has marks that indicate the SUV dragged for 50 metres before its run was stopped by a tree. The broken handle of the motorcycle, broken pieces of Aman’s helmet and smashed glasses reflect the events that transpired.
Such was the impact of the Range Rover’s collision with two vehicles before it overturned that its tyres came off the rims and blood was smeared on the rear and even the safety bags.
News source: https://www.hindustantimes.com
