Mercedes hits student, drags him and speeds away

It has been over 24 hours, but the Delhi police have so far failed to identify a speeding Mercedes which mowed down a 17-year-old boy, Atul Arora, in Outer Delhi’s Mianwali area in Paschim Vihar late on Sunday night.

CCTV footage shows that the Mercedes, being driven at high speed, overtook a tempo and went on the wrong side of the road hitting the two-wheeler head on. Eyewitnesses said that the victim was flung into the air and then dragged by the car for over 150 metres. The speeding car did not stop and while fleeing the spot, hit a truck.

Atul, a class 12 student of the Bal Bharti Public School, was a lifeline to his father, who has been a paralytic for over 10 years and needs support to walk. “Atul would drop and pick up his father every day from work. He helped him move around,” said Virendra Satija, a family friend.

Atul was on his way home after obtaining bhandara from an ashram in the area. He left the bhandara on his white scooter around 10:30pm to drop his friend, Deepak Nanda, at GH5/7 block in the neighbourhood.He was near the DDA market in GH9 block area when the incident occurred. “We saw a silver Mercedes being driven around 120-140km/hr.      

Within 5-6 seconds, the boy was in the air and his scooter crushed. The car did not stop even for a second,” said Ashita Saini, an eyewitness who informed the police.

When asked about the occupants, Saini said she was not sure but added, “We caught a glimpse of two middle-aged men.” Saini friend’s brother Sachet rushed the victim to the nearby Sri Balaji Action hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead at 10:53pm.

Despite having CCTV footage and remains of the car including the logo and the bonnet sheet being recovered from the spot by eyewitnesses, the police claim that they have not been able to identify the vehicle. No arrests have been made so far.

Atul’s father Ajay Arora works as a Personal Assistant to the Chief Engineer, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and had suffered a paralytic attack 10 years back. His mother works as a teacher at the Guru Nanak Public School and he is survived by two elder sisters Archana and Ruchi. Archana is a 2nd year college student while Ruchi works as a teacher near St. Marks school road.

“We want the police to take stringent action so that our faith in the law is maintained. The driver of the car should have at least stopped to help him,” said Ruchi. The family claim that so far they have not received a copy of the FIR.

Post the tragedy, people gathered outside Atul’s house in GH 14 block in Paschim Vihar to offer their condolences. “I have known Atul since college. He was a dear friend and I will miss him,” said Satija.