Days after 23-year-old Sahil Dhaneshra was killed in a brutal SUV crash in Delhi’s Dwarka, the father of the accused said on Tuesday that the family is “deeply grief-stricken” and admitted that the vehicle involved belongs to their commercial transport business.
The person driving at the time of the crash was 17-year-old Akshatra Singh, who has been detained. The post-mortem findings showed that Sahil, who died on the spot, had fractured his skull, multiple ribs and his elbow due to the impact of the collision with the Scorpio SUV.
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Notably, the Delhi Police have also registered a case against the accused’s father and held him responsible under the Motor Vehicles Act, HT reported earlier.
Accused’s father apologises, says cooperated with police
The father, who runs a transport business, was also questioned by the Delhi Police. After the questioning, he spoke to the media and said he was not in the city when the incident took place.
“My wife told me about the accident. I didn’t know my son was driving,” he said, adding that his son was on his way to drop his daughter off somewhere. “I am regretful that this happened. I can imagine what pain the [victim’s] family must be going through.”
He said he would fully comply with whatever the law requires. “My son and daughter were in the car. I run a commercial vehicle business. The vehicle is used in our business, and the challan on the vehicle is because of our drivers who drive it. This is not because of my son. This is a heartbreaking incident,” he told news agency ANI.
The father added, “He (The accused) is very disturbed. There is deep grief in the entire family, for that family as well as for ourselves. We cooperated with the police…the police asked me for documents. We provided all the documents. No, I was unaware (that my daughter was making a reel), and it wasn’t a reel, but a short video.”
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Dwarka SUV crash: What happened?
The crash took place at about 11:50 am on February 3 near Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management in Sector 11. Police said the Scorpio struck an R15 Yamaha motorcycle, killing its rider, Sahil Dhaneshra, on the spot. It then hit a parked Swift Dzire, leaving cab driver Ajit Singh injured.
The driver was apprehended at the spot, and a case was filed under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 281 (rash driving), 106 (1) (negligence leading to death), and 125 (a) (act endangering life).
On Tuesday, deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said the minor driver’s father had been booked under Section 199A (guardians or vehicle owners liable when a juvenile (minor) commits a traffic offence) under the MV Act, 1988. “Initially, the boy had lied about his age. Now, based on the findings, the father of the boy will be chargesheeted under the MV Act,” the DCP told HT.
On February 4, he was presented before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to an observation home. On February 10, the minor was granted interim bail for the Class 10 board examinations.
The victim’s mother said on Tuesday that her son had been killed by a “reckless teen” just 10 minutes away from his workplace. Dhaneshra, who held a part-time job at an insurance firm, had plans to travel to the UK later this year for higher studies.
“My son was lying on the road for 10 minutes. Help came late. I want action against the boy. He should not have been driving,” she said.
(With inputs from Jignasa Sinha)