The national Capital witnessed two cases of road rage on Sunday night, both involving SUVs driving with a person hanging on to their bonnets. While one person hanging on to the bonnet of the moving SUV died, the other had a narrow escape because a PCR began following the vehicle forcing the driver to stop.
In the first incident, a 30-year-old cab driver was driven from Ashram Chowk to Nizamuddin while hanging on to the bonnet of a luxury SUV in South-east Delhi’s Ashram area after the two vehicles had a minor accident. A purported video of the incident also surfaced on social media where a man is seen clutching on to the bonnet of a moving SUV.
The victim narrated, “I work as a taxi driver and I was returning after dropping a passenger. When I reached Ashram, a SUV touched my car three times. Then I came out of my car and stood in front of his vehicle to prevent him from leaving. However, he started driving and I jumped on to the bonnet to make him stop. But he didn’t stop and I hung on to the bonnet. He went from Ashram Chowk to Nizamuddin with me hanging on the bonnet. I kept asking him to stop, but he did not stop. The person was totally drunk. On the way, a PCR saw us and forced him to stop the car,” he said.
According to the police, they received a call regarding an accident at Ashram Chowk and the caller identified himself as Chetan, a resident of Govindpuri. “He said that his Ciaz taxi was hit by a Land Rover Discovery car at Ashram Chowk,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Rajesh Deo said. When the car driver Ramachal (35), a resident of Dumri district in Bihar, tried to flee from the spot, Chetan sat on its bonnet, he said.
Following this, Ramachal drove his car up to Nizamuddin Police Station with Chetan holding on for dear life. Finally, a PCR van stopped the SUV and Chetan got off the bonnet, police said.
On the complaint of the cab driver, a case under Sections 279 (rash driving) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) is being registered against the SUV driver and further action will be taken, they said.
In the second incident, a SUV rammed into a motorcycle and the rider fell onto the bonnet of the vehicle. But, the car driver didn’t stop and kept on driving with the man on the bonnet. After driving for around half a km, the accused driver left the victim on the road and fled. The deceased has been identified as Deepanshu Verma.
As per the police, Deepanshu Verma (30) and Mukul Verma (20) were on the motorcycle when they were hit by the SUV. While Mukul fell on the road, Deepanshu fell on the bonnet and the vehicle kept moving, dragging him. The accused driver has been identified as Harneet Singh Chawla and he has been arrested by the police. His SUV has also been seized.