Juvenile offender booked for culpable homicide, sent to correction home

The juvenile accused, who was allegedly driving his father’s Mercedes and ran over 32-year-old Sidhartha Sharma in the Civil Lines area  last Wednesday, was apprehended on Sunday after he turned 18 (on Friday). He has been booked under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and sent to a juvenile justice home. 

His bail plea was rejected by the Juvenile Justice Board and he has been sent to the correction home for a day. The Delhi Police are likely to demand his police custody to interrogate him intensively on Monday.

Meanwhile, his father Manoj Aggarwal, who was arrested on Friday for abetting the crime of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, was granted bail on Sunday morning, after furnishing a personal bail bond of Rs 1 lakh. 

However, the police have demanded one more day to keep Aggarwal in custody, so the officials can interrogate him face-to-face with his son.

Aggarwal’s driver  Kuldeep, who has been booked under the Sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender) and 202 (intentional omission to give information of offence by person bound to inform) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), has also been released on a bail bond of Rs 5,000.

Since the case has been transferred to the Special unit of North district, now the police are trying to cover the mistakes in the probe carried out by the investigating team of Civil Lines, by slapping maximum charges against the accused and co-accused. 

According to sources, orders against the officials concerned have been issued as the initial police investigation was unsatisfactory and reports regarding favouritism towards the accused and loopholes in the preliminary probe surfaced.

On Sunday, the family members and friends of Sidhartha Sharma (32), who was mowed down by the Mercedes on Wednesday, carried out a traffic awareness drive in Connaught Place. They told people about the drawbacks of driving at speed and juveniles on the wheels. 

Meanwhile, a silent candle light protest was staged in Mumbai.