Cab driver scrapes car,thrashed by ‘relatives of cricketer’

The victim,Jaspal Singh who works as a cab driver for a call centre in Noida,was rushed to Jessa Ram hospital in Karol Bagh. His condition is said to be stable,although he suffered grievous injuries. Police said Raghav was absconding.

Meanwhile,the victim’s daughter Gagandeep told Newsline that on Thursday morning,the accused’s family asked them to withdraw the case.

The incident took place around 1 am on Wednesday near Metro Pillar number 97 on Pusa Road after the victim’s Sumo Victa accidentally scraped the accused’s car.

Police said the accused immediately stopped Singh’s car,pulled him out and thrashed him.

“He requested them to settle the matter and offered to pay for the damages. However,they refused and continued thrashing him,” said a senior police officer.

A constable posted at a picket nearby rushed to the spot and subsequently lodged an FIR.

In his complaint,the constable stated,“I was informed by a passerby that two men were assaulting a man on Pusa Road. We rushed to the spot and found a man lying in a pool of blood and two men beating him up. When we tried stopping them,one of them told us that he was a national-level cricketer’s brother. The other man was asking Raghav to continue hitting the victim and constantly kept saying that they could deal with the matter as they were influential people. Even as we tried to save him,they did not stop and continued to kick the man lying on the road — on his face and head.”

When the police resorted to force,the accused sat in their car bearing a registration number DL 6 CJ 8817 and fled.

Police then stopped an auto rickshaw and rushed the victim to a hospital nearby and dialled 100.

The victim was then admitted to the ICU,after which his family members were informed. Gagandeep told Newsline,“My father works as a driver for a call centre. He was on his way to Noida for his duty,when the incident took place. I received a call at night from the hospital. My father still can’t eat food or speak because his jaw is swollen.”

However,she said,“A man came to the hospital this morning and told me he was the father of one of the accused. He told me he was sorry for what had happened and asked me to withdraw the case saying they were relatives of a national-level cricketer.”

The police have registered a case under sections of attempt to culpable homicide,criminal intimidation and common intention of the IPC.

Additional commissioner of Police (Central) Devesh Srivastava said,“Investigations are underway. Efforts are on to nab the accused.”