Car 'thief' dies during chase in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A 26-year-old man suspected of stealing a car from Noida died after falling off a terrace in southeast Delhi’s Sarita Vihar on Friday. The man was being chased by a crowd after the car’s owner noticed his vehicle and started following him.

DCP (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said the victim had been identified as Mukesh and an inquest under Section 174 of CrPC has been initiated.

A preliminary probe revealed that Mukesh had reportedly stolen a car from Noida on Wednesday evening. He was driving the vehicle on Friday and crossing the DND flyway when the owner of the car spotted his vehicle at a fuel station.

The owner intercepted the car and climbed on top of it to stop the man. However, when he didn’t succeed, he started trailing it by riding pillion on a motorcycle.

Meanwhile, the victim panicked and left the car on the road. He entered a lane in Sarita Vihar and was being followed by the car owner who raised an alarm in the locality. As the chase ensued, more people joined in and the suspect climbed on top of a terrace, and in a bid to save himself tried to climb down from the height using a pipe.

As he was moving down, the pipe collapsed due to his weight and Mukesh fell down from a height of at least 20ft. He sustained head injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared him dead on arrival. The body was handed over to the family after an autopsy on Saturday.

Police said Mukesh worked as the driver for the owner. A case of theft was registered on Wednesday and the Noida cops were looking for the suspect.