Told not to smoke in public, ‘ drunk lawyer’ runs car over 21yearold ‘My son felt for the homeless... today, we battle a powerful person’
ROAD RAGE Gurpreet Singh, who was in a coma for three days, died on Wednesday; lawyer booked for murder, held
NEWDELHI: Angry at being asked not to smoke in public, a ‘drunk lawyer’ allegedly rammed his car into the motorcycle of a 21-year-old photography student near the AIIMS Trauma Centre in south Delhi on Sunday.
The student, Gurpreet Singh, who was in coma since Sunday, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday.
The lawyer has been re-arrested.
Police had initially booked the accused, Rohit Krishna Mahanta, for rash driving and causing hurt due to a negligent act and was let off on bail. But after the victim, Gurpreet Singh, passed away, the police arrested Mahanta and booked him under the charges of murder.
The accused lawyer works under a standing counsel of the Assam government.
The victim’s family accused the police of ignoring the facts of the case and said the cops tried to pass it off as a simple case of accident resulting in the lawyer getting bail. However, once the victim’s friend, who was also injured in the accident, began spilling the beans on Wednesday and after the case was highlighted by media, Delhi police booked the lawyer for murder.
Gurpreet Singh, a native of Bhatinda in Punjab, had been pursuing a photography course from Delhi College of Photography in north Delhi. He lived with his classmate, Maninder Singh, in a rented home in Shahbad Dairy.
To shoot a documentary on the lives of outstation patients and their relatives, the duo visited AIIMS in the early hours of Sunday. Once done with their work at around 3.30am, they had decided to have parathas outside the hospital.
After they finished their dinner, they found themselves in confrontation with the ‘drunk man’.
“The man was smoking a cigarette and blowing the smoke into our faces. The smoke not only caused us physical problem, it was also against our religious belief. So, we requested him to avoid smoking in public,” Maninder told Hindustan Times.
But the request was allegedly met with verbal abuse and death threats. Sensing that the argument was turning violent, the two friends reportedly picked up their Bullet motorcycle and left.
They barely rode 500 metres when a speeding Ford Fiesta, allegedly the same one that was parked next to their Bullet at the Gurpreet Singh, 21, and his friend Maninder Singh have parathas at a roadside stall near AIIMS
At the stall, they object to Rohit Krishna Mahanta, a lawyer, smoking in public. An argument ensues eatery, rammed them from behind outside AIIMS trauma centre. Before coming to a halt, the car also went on to hit an auto and an Ola cab, leaving both the vehicles badly damaged.
“Gurpreet and I were thrown away. When I stood up, I found a man come out of the Ford Fiesta. It was the same man who had threatened us minutes ago. He had chased us and hit us intentionally,” alleged Maninder.
As Maninder sought an auto driver’s help to move his friend to the trauma centre nearby, public gathered at the spot and thrashed Mahanta, a native of Assam and a resident of south Delhi’s Defence Colony. “His medical examination showed he was drunk. He had threatened Gurpreet after an argument and later he followed Gurpreet’s bike and rammed it from behind,” said Chinmoy Biswal, additional DCP (south).
Mahanta allegedly abuses and threatens the duo. They decide to leave
As they cross AIIMS trauma centre, Mahanta allegedly hits the Bullet motorcycle, which Gurpreet was driving with Maninder riding pillion, with his Ford Fiesta car
Mahanta’s car also hits an auto and a cab before coming to a halt. He is beaten up by locals
Gurpreet slips into a coma at the hospital, Maninder receives treatment for his injuries
Mahanta’s check-up shows he is drunk, booked for rash driving and released on bail After remaining in a coma, Gurpreet succumbs to his injuries. Police books Mahanta for murder.
Mahanta arrested for murder of Gurpreet from a hospital where he got himself admitted. NEWDELHI: In the last one year that 21-year-old Gurpreet Singh had been pursuing a photography course, the plight of the homeless moved him the most.
So, when it was time to make a documentary, he chose to highlight the problems of the outstation patients and their relatives who spend weeks in Delhi, without a roof over their heads.
“He would be troubled on reading about homeless people being run over by carelessly driven vehicles. A documentary on a sub-section of the homeless was his way to do something for them,” said Gurpreet’s classmate, Ankit.
A native of Bhatinda, Gurpreet came to Delhi with a dream to become a documentary filmmaker. “I told him to follow his dream. He had the talent and he was a kind boy who could not see people in pain. I knew he would contribute to the society,” said Gurpreet’s father, Onkar Singh.
Earlier this month, Gurpreet brought to Delhi his Bullet motorcycle from his native. He wanted to be able to move freely for his project, his family said.
“He wanted to show the plight of outsiders in the city. Today, we are in the same position as we battle a powerful person who almost got away with murder,” Onkar Singh told Hindustan Times.
He and his wife had rushed to the city when they came to know that their son had slipped in a coma after allegedly being hit by a car, driven by a lawyer with whom he had entered into an argument over smoking in public.
On Tuesday, Onkar Singh had sent his wife away to her village. “I told her to pray for our son. I told her to do charity to pray for our son’s recovery. She had been visiting Gurdwaras since Tuesday. I don’t have the heart to tell her that her prayers went unheard,” he said.
THE ACCUSED LAWYER HAD THREATENED GURPREET AFTER AN ARGUMENT AND LATER FOLLOWED THE VICTIM’S BIKE AND RAMMED IT FROM BEHIND He was a kind boy who could not see people in pain. I knew he would contribute to the society.