CYCLIST RUN OVER BY LUXURY CAR IN MAHIPALPUR
The luxury car was allegedly being driven by a chauffeur, who was arrested. The man claimed the car’s front left tyre burst, causing him to lose control of the wheel
NEW DELHI: A 50-year-old man from Gurugram was killed on Sunday morning after the bicycle he was riding was hit from behind by a white luxury car near Mahipalpur flyover on the carriageway towards Dhaula Kuan, said police officers aware of the matter.
The car, a BMW 5-Series, was allegedly driven by a 30-year-old chauffeur, said the police.
A 50-year-old man from Gurugram was killed on Sunday morning after the bicycle he was riding was hit from behind by a white luxury car near Mahipalpur flyover on the carriageway towards Dhaula Kuan, said police officers aware of the matter.
The car, a BMW 5-Series, was allegedly driven by a 30-yearold chauffeur, said the police.
The driver, identified as Somveer (who goes by a single name), said he lost control of the vehicle after the front left tyre burst while he was returning after dropping his employer off at the Delhi airport, said police officers involved in the investigation, adding that they are yet to ascertain the claim.
As the car hit the cycle from behind, its rider, identified as Shubhendu Chatterjee, was flung in the air. He then fell on to the windshield, said the police. Chatterjee, said police, is a resident of Sector 49 in Gurugram and was cycling from Gurugram towards Dhaula Kuan.
The mangled remains of the bicycle fell by the side of the road.
Somveer was arrested on the spot and booked for rash and negligent driving causing death.
“We will get the vehicle inspected by automobile experts to verify his claims and establish if the tyre burst before the mishap or after hitting the bicycle,” said deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Manoj C, adding that the cyclist was wearing a helmet when the accident took place.
Police officers said the car belongs to Sunil, who goes by a single name, is a resident of west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh and runs a cellphone store in the neighbourhood. He denied that he was in the car when the accident took place, said officers.
Chatterjee was associated with a cycling group known as the “Delhi Riders”, which has around 20 members, according to some of his friends.
They also said that the car, which bore a Haryana VIP registration number (0001), has two parking stickers on the front windshield.
“One sticker says ‘Chairman Finance Committee Delhi Cantonment Board, Ministry of Defence,’” said Himanshu Khanna, a friend of Chatterjee and a member of the Delhi Riders group
When questioned, Sunil reportedly told police officers that he bought the car secondhand and that the stickers were affixed on the windscreen when he purchased it. Manoj said these claims are being verified, adding that he will be penalised for not removing the stickers if his version checks out.
The officer said the Vasant Kunj North police station received a call around 7.30am on Sunday reporting the accident.
“The driver of the car rushed the victim to the hospital using public transport. There, doctors declared him dead on arrival. A case of rash and negligent driving causing death was registered under the Indian Penal Code’s sections 279 and 304A. The driver of the car was arrested,” said Manoj.
Sanjay Kumar, a cyclist who is associated with several riding groups in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), said he spotted the bicycle on the side of the road.
He clicked photographs and sent it to at least five Whatsapp groups of cyclists, in a bid to identify the cycle and its rider.
“I asked the personnel sitting in a police van parked there about the rider. They said he was taken to a hospital by the driver of the car, but added that they were unsure which hospital he was taken to. I clicked photographs of the cycle, the rear wheel of which was damaged, and shared the images with five cyclist groups. Someone from the group identified that the bicycle belonged to Shubhendu Chatterjee. Another member of the group informed Chatterjee’s family members about the accident. We eventually learnt from the police that he was brought dead to Safdarjung hospital,” said Kumar.
Chatterjee is survived by his parents, wife and a 21-year-old daughter.
He was involved in the garment business, said his friends.
The family planned to celebrate his father’s 80th birthday on Sunday.
“The family is in complete shock and trauma,” said Sarika Panda Bhatt, a road safety expert and member of the Delhi Riders group.
Chatterjee’s is the second such death of a cyclist in a road accident in Delhi since March this year.
On March 31 this year, 26-year-old Kunwar Arora was killed after his bicycle was hit by a truck on Sardar Patel Marg in central Delhi.
Bhatt said Delhi is in desperate need of improved cycling infrastructure if it is to prevent such mishaps.
“On one hand, the government encourages people to ride bicycles, but on the other, there is no infrastructure or dedicated passages for cyclists. Motorists have no respect for cyclists and their safety, which is why such deaths are happening in the city,” added Bhatt.
On the one hand, the government encourages people to ride bicycles, but on the other, there is no infrastructure for cyclists.
SARIKA PANDA BHATT, Road safety expert