Delhi: Woman ‘misled’ probe, sister held 3 days later

Three days after a 30-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly running over a 79-year-old doctor and his 62-year-old wife in Dwarka, police Thursday arrested her younger sister for the crime.

Police had initially arrested Deepakshi Chaudhary (30), who works at a multi-national company, after she claimed she was driving the car at the time of the accident. However, during investigation, police found it was Deepakshi’s sister Nupur (28) who was driving the car. Nupur works as a probationary officer in Canara Bank.

DCP (Dwarka) Santosh Kumar Meena said Nupur has been held under sections of rash driving and causing death by negligence while Deepakshi has also been arrested for misleading the police.

“Deepakshi told us she was driving the car and was ‘thinking of something’ when she hit the couple. She also produced papers before the investigating officer and was later released on bail. On Wednesday, the victim’s family members alleged that Deepakshi is lying and wasn’t driving her car. We verified the allegations and arrested Nupur. Further investigation is in progress.”

Police sources said Nupur got her learner’s licence only this January and feared losing her job if she is named in an FIR. She was allegedly checking her WhatsApp messages when she hit the couple, identified as Shanti Swroop Arora, a retired doctor, and his wife Anjula, both residents of APPU Enclave at Dwarka’s Sector 11. Their children are in the US.

The accident took place at 6.30 pm on April 4 and was caught on camera. In the video, a Baleno hits the couple and runs over them. The driver comes out, goes to the rear side of the vehicle and calls somebody after taking her mobile phone from the car. People come to the spot and try to rescue the victims by pushing the hatchback. One of the victims is seen lying at the rear side of the vehicle.

A senior police officer said after the incident, Nupur called her sister, who accompanied the elderly couple to Manipal Hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries. After the family’s allegations and local enquiry, police checked other CCTVs.

A police officer said, “We found that though the car was registered in Deepakshi’s name. It was driven by her sister. After the incident, Deepakshi and her father reached the spot and she confessed to the crime committed by her sister as they were scared Nupur would lose her job,” an officer said.