On April 4, an elderly couple was mowed down by a woman at Sector-11, Dwarka, in southwest Delhi. The incident took place at around 6:30 PM. The whole incident was captured in a CCTV camera installed at a mosque across the road.
As per reports, the accused, identified as 28-year-old Deepakshi Choudhary, had crushed 79-year-old Shanti Swaroop Arora and his 62-year-old wife Anjana Arora with her grey Baleno car. Both accused and victims were residing in Appu Enclave in Sector-11, Dwarka. Arora was a retired government official, and his wife was a homemaker. The couple was living here alone, and their children are settled in the US.
Accused Deepakshi Choudhary was arrested by the Police and booked for rash driving or riding in a public way and causing death by negligence. A case was filed under Sections 304A (causing death by negligence) and 279 (rash driving) against Choudhary. She was later released from the police station on bail. Her car was impounded by the Police. As per reports, she was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident and works at a multi-national company.
Santosh Kumar Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka), said that she told Police that she was thinking about something and ‘got distracted’, which resulted in the accident. She did not flee the scene and accompanied the couple to the hospital. By the time police reached the hospital after learning about the incident, Choudhary was still there.
How did the accident happen?
A video was posted on social media platforms in which the whole incident was clearly visible. The couple was seen walking on ‘Masjid Wali Road’, and two more men were visible in the frame. After crossing the building of the Mosque, the couple took a u-turn and went on the left side of the road. Suddenly, Choudhary’s car appeared in the frame, moving at a slow speed in the middle of the road. In a matter of seconds, it started moving towards the couple and hit them. The couple fell on the road, but Choudhary did not push the breaks and ran over them.
Scary visuals from #Dwarka Delhi, an aged couple was moved down by a car on Sunday evening. #Accident pic.twitter.com/hxFRxsMm5d
— Utkarsh Singh (@utkarshs88) April 6, 2021
The elderly man was pinned down under the car while his wife was stuck under the back of the car. Witnesses at the scene rushed to the rescue of the couple. This was the time when Deepshika came out of the car and went to see the elderly lady who was trapped at the back. Choudhary was seen dialling someone’s number on her mobile phone and frantically talking to someone.
Within few moments, more people rushed towards the accident site. They pushed the car to rescue the woman. Once she was taken aside, some people tried to lift the front portion of the car to take the elderly man out, but they failed. They tried to lift the car from different sides but did not succeed. Somehow he was pulled out from under the car and rushed to the hospital. During the time, the elderly man was still conscious. He was taken to the hospital by one Sheikh Abdullah who was in the Mosque to perform evening prayers.
Abdullah said it was a horrible sight. While going to the hospital, the elderly man was conscious. He was talking to him and told him that he suffered a fracture in his left hand. He also enquired about his wife and requested him to stop the car, so he could see her. She was being taken in Deepshikha’s car to the hospital in an unconscious state.
Deepshikha was allegedly on the phone during accident
As per some reports, Deepshikha was allegedly talking on the phone or checking her phone while driving the car at the time when the accident happened. An officer investigating the case said that though Choudhary claimed she was thinking something and lost control, it is yet to be ascertained if she was using her cell phone while driving.
The victim’s family raised doubts over who was driving the car
A senior police officer was quoted saying that though Deepshikha claimed she was driving the car, the family of the victims believe that her sister was behind the wheels. “Hence, the facts have to be verified,” the officer added.