Justice is miles away, victim lies on bed, accused still drives

The two policemen stopped Arora and while Umer Singh took him to a side and asked to see his vehicle papers, Raghubir Singh waited near the barricade.

Without warning, a Ford Escort travelling at breakneck speed reared up from the Chirag Delhi side of the road and rammed the barricade. Both Umer Singh and Arora were hit, Umer Singh was thrown into the air by the impact and fell 50 feet from the site of the mishap. Arora was dragged for part of the way; his legs were severed by the rear wheels of the big car while his head was crushed.

The Jorbagh resident, Shamendra Narain who was at the wheels of the Ford Escort did not stop. An autorickshaw driver who witnessed the hit and run gave chase. But by now the car was slowing down as its bonnet had been mangled in the accident. The Ford Escort finally came to a stop near Archana Shopping Complex in Greater Kailash, I. The autorickshaw driver dragged Narain out of the car and took him to the Defence Colony Police Station and handed him in. He was later sent to Hauz Khas Police Station where an FIR was registered. He was booked under Sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life) and 304 A (causing death by negligence). But, surprisingly, in the next two hours Narain was a free man when he was released on a bail bond. The Ford Escort — which belonged to a friend of his — was seized by the police and later released on subedari.

Meanwhile, Arora was declared dead on arrival at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Umer Singh was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit where he was operated on for multiple injuries to the chest, head, hand and legs.

A year after the accident, 30-year-old Umer Singh does not recognise anyone even his one-and-a-half-year-old son. He is now receiving treatment at Safdarjang Hospital. His wife, Sumanlata, who was earlier staying in Rajasthan, is living in Delhi in the hope that her husband will recover. According to Umer Singh’s doctors, there is a blood clot on the right side of his brain. He was treated at AIIMS for six months but was shifted to Safdarjang in April last year the reason, the hospital was short of beds.

Umer Singh’s wife says the doctors feel he is no longer required to stay in hospital. She says: “Doctors say that he will be alright if he has an operation. But I have to arrange money for that”.

Sumanlata explains: “My parents who came to Delhi after the accident have given the money for his treatment.” She also receives Umer Singh’s monthly salary which amounts to Rs 4,200. Apart from that, the police have given her a quarter to stay in. “It was not easy to get. I had to visit the then DCP who in turn forwarded a request letter to their ITO headquarters. There they told me to get a medical certificate. After waiting six months, a quarter was allocated to me,” says Sumanlata.

But more than the everyday struggle of her getting her husband back to normal, she is distressed by the way the case has been handled. After being released on bail, the accused Narain was never produced in court. He was, however, chargesheeted on December 25 last year — exactly a year after the accident — in the court of J.P. Narain. When asked why the chargesheet was filed so late, Sub-Inspector Arvind Sharma, the investigating officer in the case said: “Since Umer Singh was in a coma, we could not file it earlier. But since there has been little change in his condition, we are not delaying it further.”

The SI, however, had no clue to the whereabouts of the accused. “We will get him when he is wanted in court,” said a confident Sharma.