Friends of Bathinda man sought justice on social media
NEW DELHI: Friends of Gurpreet Singh,ayoungphotographystudent who died after his bike was allegedly deliberately hit by a ‘drunk’ lawyer, ran a sustained socialmediacampaigntoensure justice for him.
Rohit Krishan Mahanta was arrestedonWednesdaynightand bookedunderchargesofmurder. The lawyer had been initially arrested on comparatively lenientchargesofrashandnegligent driving, and had managed to secure bail.
The incident took place early
on Sunday morning when Gurpreet and his friend Maninder had an argument with Mahanta at a paratha stall near AIIMS. The duo objected to Mahanta smoking in public but decided to leave when the latter allegedly
abused and threatened them.
TheyhadreachednearAIIMS traumacentreontheirbikewhen Mahantaallegedlyhitthemfrom behind in his car. His car also hit a taxi and an auto before coming to a halt. Gurpreet was rushed to the trauma centre by Maninder and some locals. He had slipped into acoma anddiedonWednesdaymorning.Maninderalsosuffered injuries in the accident.
Gurpreet’s family and friends had been alleging that the police was trying to shield the accused sincehewasan“influential”person. Mahanta is with a standing counsel of Assam government. The victim’s friends wrote about the incident on Facebook and described the exact sequence of events. For impact, they shared bed-ridden photos of Gurmeet andthebandagedphotosofManinder. They had also dug up photos of the accused and some details about him.Some of these Facebookpostsweresharedover 2,000 times. They also sent WhatsApp messages about the incident, claiming the police were trying to cover up the crime. Thesemessageswerealsoshared with some journalists.