Elderly watchman dies after being run over twice by SUV in Peeragarhi village

A 60-year-old watchman was on Sunday assaulted by an SUV driver and then run over twice when he tried to escape, leading to his death in outer Delhi’s Peeragarhi village, with CCTV footage capturing the chilling sequence of events, according to police.

The deceased was identified as Bijender Bharadwaj, a resident of the village, who worked as a watchman at the tempo stand where the incident occurred.

An analysis of CCTV footage indicated that the victim may have been deliberately targeted, a police officer said, adding that they were probing all angles. In the CCTV footage, the vehicle can be seen waiting in one corner with its headlights on for a few minutes while the victim was sitting on a chair in the opposite direction.

A man then stepped out of the vehicle carrying a large stick and started attacking the victim without any apparent provocation. As the victim tried to save himself, the accused returned to the SUV and ran him over once, pushing him towards a corner.

When the victim attempted to escape, the accused again drove the vehicle towards him and ran him over a second time before swiftly fleeing the spot.

The police said skid marks were also found at the spot during inspection, indicating that the vehicle had braked before or during the incident.

The police said a PCR call regarding the incident was received at around 4.03 am on Sunday, following which the local team rushed to the spot.

Bijender was found lying unconscious on the road and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead. A case under sections 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (common intentions) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered at Paschim Vihar West police station.

The vehicle fled the scene after the incident, the police said, adding that efforts are underway to ascertain its registration number and ownership details.

“Detailed scrutiny of CCTV footage installed in and around the area revealed that the deceased was run over twice by a four-wheeler. The footage is being examined thoroughly to identify the vehicle and reconstruct the exact sequence of events and what led to the matter,” the officer said.

Multiple teams have been deployed to trace the accused driver and the vehicle involved, the police said. Forensic and other teams inspected the scene and collected forensic and technical evidence.

Meanwhile, a relative of the victim said he had had no enmity or dispute with anyone.

“We came to know about the incident around 3.30 pm. My uncle has been working here as a security guard for the past one year. He was a simple man and had no enmity or dispute with anyone. Anyone here can tell you that he never fought with anybody,” Sunil Bhardwaj, a nephew of the victim, said.

“The police reached the spot and checked the CCTV footage, but the vehicle’s number plate is not visible in the footage,” he said.

The police said they are scanning CCTV footage from nearby roads, traffic intersections and commercial establishments to track the movement of the SUV before and after the incident.