New delhi: An auto-rickshaw driver and a mason died after the vehicle they were in — a three-seater auto-rickshaw (TSR) — was hit by a luxury SUV being driven by a 51-year-old property dealer in South Delhi's Greater Kailash area. Police said that they have arrested the accused and found that the vehicle — a Land Cruiser Prado - was being driven at a high speed. Police said that on November 8, they received a PCR call, where the caller informed them about an accident on the BRT Road near the Chirag Delhi flyover and people were injured.
The police team reached the spot BRT Road near Chirag Delhi flyover towards Defence Colony and found two vehicles, the Land Cruiser and an auto-rickshaw, in damaged condition.
"The occupants of the TSR, three in number, were immediately shifted to hospital by PCR," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Parvinder Singh said.
Officials said Vinod Kumar, the driver of the auto-rickshaw, a resident of Jasola, and Pankaj were declared dead at the hospital. "Pankaj Kumar (35), was a resident of Panchsheel Enclave and worked as a mason," an official said. The injured in the case identified as Arun Sahu (45), also from Panchsheel Enclave, was taken to the Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute at Sheikh Sarai, Phase-2.
A case has now been registered at the GK-1 police station and the accused driver of the offending vehicle, Surender Sahlot (51), a resident of Fatehpur Beri, apprehended, the officer said, adding that further investigation was
underway.
Sahlot works as a property dealer and initial investigation has revealed that he was not drunk at the time of the incident, an official said. According to the official, he was going towards the Defence Colony side through the Chirag Delhi flyover when the accident happened.
"Sahlot was not able to control the vehicle and hit the TSR. The impact was such that TSR tumbled down. Nearby people reached the spot and the accused was nabbed from the spot," police said. The investigators are probing whether the accident took place due to the vehicle attempting a shortcut. "Case is being investigated from various angles," the official said.