A FORMER Indian Army Major was on Monday arrested for running over a 24-year old woman on the main road near Furniture Market, Sector 56. The incident, captured on CCTV cameras, had taken place on Saturday night when the victim, identified as Tejashwati Kaushal, was out feeding stray dogs with her mother near the Furniture Market. A speeding car, later identified as a Mahindra Thar, is seen hitting Tejashwati at around 11 pm throwing her to a side. Police said that Tejashwati, who holds a Bachelor's degree in architecture and was preparing for her civil service examinations, suffered severe head injuries in the incident. She was immediately rushed to GMSH-16 by her parents, from where she was discharged on Monday after treatment. The entire sequence of events was caught on a CCTV camera installed outside a furniture shop near the accident site. Police on Monday said that the driver of the Thar, identified as former Army Major Sandeep Shahi, 40, was arrested following the scrutiny of CCTV cameras installed at many light points. Sandeep is a resident of Phase-2, Mohali. Meanwhile, the mother of the victim, Manjit Kaur, on Monday claimed that immediately after the incident she had pleaded for help from some passersby, but no one came forward to assist them. She later called up her husband, Ojaswi Kaushal, who rushed to the spot from their residence in Sector 51 and took Tejashwati to GMSH-16. Tejashwati, on being rushed to GMSH-16, was immediately admitted in the ICU, and received as many as 18 stitches on her head. Investigators so far have determined that the incident took place when Tejashwati was feeding strays on the main road. The victim had her back towards the road and could not see the speeding car coming when she was hit from behind. The driver, police said, fled from the spot with the vehicle after the incident. A case was lodged at Sector 36 police station later, with the driver being arrested on Monday and the car seized. Investigators, so far, have claimed that Sandeep was not drunk at the time of the incident, with further probe on in the case.
