An online petition initiated by Delhi resident Abeer Aggarwal on change.org, addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Verma and nine others seeking justice to the family of 32-year-old Siddhartha Sharma, who was mowed down by a speeding Mercedes on April 4 in north Delhi’s Civil lines area, has drawn an overwhelming response from netizens.
The petition filed on April 7 has collected 12,819 signatories.
Besides, Sharma’s family has posted a new CCTV footage on Facebook showing the movement of suspected juveniles who were present in the car, around the accident spot.
Highlighting the loopholes in the investigation taken up by the Delhi Police, Aggarwal in his petition stated, “The Delhi Police failed to conduct any tests to ascertain whether the minor behind the wheels was under the influence of alcohol or not. In fact it only swung into action more than 24 hours later - too late to check for the presence of substances in the driver’s body…. The CCTV footage was available with private persons, and was deliberately withheld. The Delhi Police has failed to take any action against them.”
Demanding appropriate actions against the minor and his father Manoj Aggarwal, the petition stated, “The driver of the car should be treated and tried as an adult and a murderer…He has snatched the life of an innocent person who was merely crossing the road, and just because he turns 18 years of age in 2, 3, 4 or 8 days does not make him any less of an adult.”
Furthermore, the petition demanded identification of juveniles who were present with the minor in his car at the time of the accident.
Meanwhile, the new video uploaded by Sharma’s family on the social media, shows the accident in slow motion as well as the alleged culprit walking away and hanging around in the area for 30 minutes.
The video dated April 4 and captured by CCTV camera during 8:40 pm and 8:56 pm showed movements of around eight juveniles in the area, just after accident.
One of the juveniles is seen carrying a bag; one wearing a cap while other juveniles are seen walking at different spots of the area. Also, the video showed that the juveniles were intercepted by two bikers for five minutes and were later seen to move away.
The petition has also been addressed to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Minister of law and Justice in the Government of India, DV Sadananda Gowda, Supreme Court if India, Juvenile Justice Board, Chief Justice of India, TS Thakur, President Pranab Mukherjee and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia.