Two held for ramming vehicle into group of people after Eid prayers

Representational picture

New Delhi: Two persons have been arrested for allegedly ramming a car into a group of people as they came out of a mosque after offering Eid prayers in east Delhi's Shahdara area on Wednesday, police said on Thursday. The car involved in the accident was stolen, they said, adding that it was being driven by a 26-year-old man. There was no report of any casualty in the incident. The accused Shahrukh, a resident of Govindpura in Jagatpuri, and his 24-year-old female associate were arrested subsequently, the police said, adding that a car and a scooter were seized from their possession. Shahrukh, allegedly a drug addict, was involved in 27 cases of vehicle theft and robbery, they said.

"The police identified Shahrukh with the help of CCTV footage and arrested him, along with his female associate, in the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday from a spot near the Kashmiri Gate," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Meghna Yadav said. During interrogation, the accused revealed that he had stolen the car from the Madhu Vihar area. Shahrukh's family had disowned him due to his drug addiction, a senior police officer said, adding that he used to sleep in the car at night. On Wednesday morning, he noticed a heavy police deployment in the area, due to which he got scared and tried to flee, the police said, adding that as he hit the streets of Khureji, he lost control of the vehicle and rammed it into the crowd. After the incident, Shahrukh had fled towards Anand Vihar, they said.

The accused allegedly stole a scooter from Anand Vihar on Wednesday night. He and his female associate were fleeing towards the Kashmiri Gate on the scooter, when they were nabbed, the police said. A case was lodged against the accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 307 (attempt to murder) at the Jagatpuri police station, the police said. Besides, a case under relevant sections of the IPC was also registered against unidentified people for allegedly vandalising a DTC bus, they added. The action was taken after videos surfaced showing a group people smashing the windshield of a DTC bus after the incident, the police said.

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