Audi driver was detained, let off minutes after accident

Around 11 pm the same night, another man died after falling from his Scooty in Nizamuddin. By that time, Malhotra had also reached Nizamuddin in his Audi, police said, adding that he had called a truck to tow his damaged vehicle.

Noticing his vehicle, officers in Nizamuddin took Malhotra to the police station to question him in connection with the scooterist’s death. At the time, police had no clue Malhotra was allegedly involved in another hit-and-run a little while earlier. He was let off after questioning.

On Monday morning, as reports of Yadav’s death emerged, police in Nizamuddin alerted their counterparts in central district about Saturday night’s encounter with the accused. “We have detained Malhotra, who lives in Greater Kailash-I. We will arrest him after the investigation,” DCP (central) M S Randhawa said.

Police said that Malhotra has an office in Darya Ganj and was returning home when he allegedly hit Yadav. He then headed to Nizamuddin and called a tow truck. “Once police in Nizamuddin picked him up, he told them his car was damaged after hitting a pole. Meanwhile, police found that the scooterist had died after losing balance, and let Malhotra go,” an officer said, adding that police noted down the details of his vehicle.

Malhotra was subsequently identified using CCTV footage and detained from the crime branch unit at Sunlight Colony. During interrogation, he is learnt to have told police that he fled the spot as he was scared people would beat him up. “He asked his friend, who runs a vehicle service centre in Noida, to send a tow truck as he wanted to ensure that he doesn’t get caught,” police said.