‘Drunken’ driver took to wheels just before crash
DEADLY DRIVE Police find plastic glasses and two alcohol bottles in i20, locals say car was being driven around “rashly” in the neighbourhood for nearly an hour before the fatal crash
NEW DELHI: Minutes before the crash, Diksha Dadu, the 19-yearold law student who allegedly killed two of her friends while driving “drunk” in north Delhi on Sunday, had taken to the wheels.
“For hours before the accident, the i20 car was being driven by its owner Ritesh Dahiya. But when Dahiya got off the driver’s seat to take a short break, Dadu got in the driver’s seat and insisted on driving . Dahiya refused to oblige but she did not listen,” said a police officer based on his interaction with the survivors.
Dahiya and another student, Siddharth Singh, were killed around 2.30am on Sunday when the speeding car, that was being driven by Dadu, climbed a road divider, flipped and collided with a traffic signal in north Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar. Dadu and two other students of Amity University sustained injuries.
Residents of Hudson Lane, where the accident occurred, alleged that the i20 car was being driven around “rashly” in the neighbourhood for nearly an hour before the fatal crash.
“I saw the car cross my shop multiple times. It was being driven dangerously,” alleged Ashok Arora, a local resident.
“It was around 2.30am when I heard a sound, similar to a blast. When I rushed to the spot, I saw an injured woman outside the car. Four others were trapped inside the car that had turned turtle and was lying across a road divider,” said Arora.
Arora’s son, Sagar, said the injured woman immediately tried to pass the blame on to the others. “Initially, she kept insisting that another car had rammed their vehicle. But when police arrived, she said she had lost control of her car,” said Sagar. Aslam Khan, DCP (northwest), said medical examination later revealed Dadu was drunk.
According to investigators, the five students had begun their joyride late on Saturday evening. “They purchased alcohol, stopped at a 24x7 outlet in Connaught Place to pick up plastic glasses and snacks and headed out to North Campus and nearby markets. They had planned to visit Murthal for paranthas later,” said an investigator.
“There were multiple plastic glasses and two alcohol bottles in the car when we broke open its doors to rescue the students,” alleged Arora.
The impact of the crash was such that the wheels of the vehicle came off and its body was badly damaged. The safety air bags saved two women seated in the front seats.