The Crime Branch on Tuesday apprehended the driver of the Mercedes car which killed a 17-year-old boy while he was riding a scooty near his house in Paschim Vihar on Sunday night. Investigators on Wednesday told The Pioneer that the accused had no remorse. “Savneet told us that he had no remorse. It was just an accident”, said interrogators.
The main accused Savneet Singh and his cousin Hashmeet Singh were handed over to the Mianwali Nagar police station. DCP (Outer) Rishi Pal said, “We have arrested Savneet Singh and Hashmeet Singh under Sections 279, 304A, 34 and 201 of the IPC. Both will be produced in the court on Thursday.”
Police claimed that they are likely to add Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) in the hit-and-run case registered with the Mianwali Nagar police station. The police had registered a case under section 279 and 304A of the IPC.
A team from the Forensic Science laboratory was called in to collect clinching evidence in the hit and run case where 17-year-old Atul Arora, a class 12 student lost his life. “The accused claimed that they were not drunk at the time of the incident. Since it has been more than 48 hours after the accident, we are finding it difficult to establish if they (the accused and his cousin) were drinking alcohol at the time of the accident.”
Savneet Singh, a 27-year-old businessman was apprehended by a team of the Inter State Cell of the Crime Branch on Tuesday night from Rajouri Garden area. He runs a furniture store in the Tilak Nagar area, said Praveer Ranjan, Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime.
After hitting Atul Arora, Savneet riding along with his cousin Hashmeet Singh went to Savneet’s store in Tilak Nagar area where they stayed till 2am. “Savneet stayed at his store till the late hours of Sunday. After which, they both went to their respective homes in Paschim Vihar. Early on Monday morning, when the news of the teenaged boy dying in an accident by one Mercedes spread across all sections of the media, Savneet claimed that he told his father about the accident. Following which, Savneet and Hashmeet resumed their daily chores.”
While Savneet is a businessman, Hashmeet works in a Multi-National Corporation in the Cyber Hub in Gurugram. A team of the Inter State Cell of the Crime Branch received a tip off on March 7 at around 8pm that Savneet Singh will come to Rajouri garden area to pick up the Mercedes car.
The Crime Branch team under the supervision of ACP Sanjay Sehrawat and DCP Madhur Verma laid a trap near Vishal Cineplex in Rajouri Garden area where Savneet was apprehended.
“During sustained interrogation, Savneet, confessed that he was driving the high end luxury vehicle with his cousin Hashmeet. Residents of Meera Bagh area of Paschim Vihar, the duo had plan to hang out in the GH13 market. They claimed that they were planning to eat and drink and have a merry time when Savneet claimed that he got a call that his furniture shop in Tilak Nagar had caught fire. In a jiffy, he drove the Mercedes and hit the scooty that 17-year-old Atul Arora was riding,” said a senior police officer.
Post the accident, the accused called up his friend on Monday claiming that his Mercedes has suffered some damages. “Afraid that Savneet’s father might scold him, Savneet claimed that he called his friend living in Rajouri Garden. Savneet confessed that when he went over to park the car, he got into a minor scuffle with a man over relieving himself in the parking lot.”
Police said that they will question Savneet’s friends who helped him in hiding the killer Mercedes.