NEW DELHI: A
26-year-old man was
arrested for
mowing down an
autorickshaw driver with his SUV near
Safdarjung Hospital in south Delhi on Monday night. Police said that he was tracked down with the help of the number plate of the
Toyota Fortuner that was found lying near the accident spot.
Initially, the accused,
Satvik Pathak, tried to mislead police claiming that his driver was at the wheel, but later admitted to having committed the crime. Satvik has been booked for causing death due to negligence and dangerous driving, DCP (south) Romil Baaniya said. The IPC section of tampering with evidence may be invoked against him as well.
The damaged autorickshaw was found by a passerby around 2am who reported it to the cops. The auto driver, Rohit Mehto, was found lying in a pool of blood about 15 metres away. The impact of the hit was such that he was flung out of the autorickshaw.
“I saw around 20 people running towards the autorickshaw to check for the driver. The vehicle had been hit by a speeding black SUV whose driver didn’t stop after the accident,” an eyewitness said.
Police found a piece of the bumper of the black Fortuner, an iron grille with the Toyota logo and the numberplate lying nearby. A probe revealed that the SUV was registered with a shop named Art n Glass Inc in GK-II.
When cops contacted the owner,
Lokesh Pathak, he sent his driver to the police station to claim responsibility for the accident. “When we questioned the driver at length, he admitted that it was Satvik who was driving the SUV. Later, Satvik was called to the police station who owned up to the crime,” said a police officer.
Satvik told police that he was returning to his home in Pitampura from Noida when he lost control of the vehicle. After hitting the auto, he stopped a few hundred metres away to ascertain the damage to his vehicle. When he saw a crowd gathering at the spot, he panicked and sped away. He helps his father run their glass factory in
Himachal Pradesh.
It is yet to be ascertained whether Satvik was driving drunk. His blood sample has been sent for examination. CCTV footage from outside the hospital is being scanned for clues. Cops are probing if Satvik had hit other vehicles on
Ring Road as he was driving at over 100kmph.
Mehto, a native of Bihar, used to live in Kotla village near Mayur Vihar. He died during treatment. His body was handed over to family members on Tuesday after autopsy.
