A martial arts trainer and his wife were arrested Wednesday for allegedly killing a food delivery agent by deliberately ramming their car into his two-wheeler in a case of road rage on October 25 in Bengaluru.
According to the Bengaluru police, Manoj Kumar, 32, from Kerala, and his wife Aarati Sharma, 30, from Jammu and Kashmir, killed Darshan, a 24-year-old from Kembattalli.
Lokesh Jagalasar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), said what initially looked like a hit-and-run was a case of murder, and the couple has confessed to the crime.
According to the police, the incident occurred around 9 pm on October 25 in Bengaluru’s Nataraja Layout. “Darshan, who was heading on his two-wheeler, brushed against Kumar’s car, slightly damaging its rear-view mirror. Though Darshan apologised, he sped away to reach the customer’s location. Darshan’s friend, Varun, was a pillion rider,” a police officer said.
#ExpressBangalore | Food delivery agent killed in #Bengaluru: CCTV footage shows how a couple chased, rammed car into himhttps://t.co/DoW9cA8vFa pic.twitter.com/wQ0tb2S1VU
However, Kumar was enraged by the damage, and took a U-turn to chase Darshan’s two-wheeler. After a few minutes, he spotted Darshan, and rammed his car into his two-wheeler. Both Darshan and Varun fell onto the road.
Passersby, who witnessed the accident, rushed Darshan and Varun to a hospital, where Darshan was declared “brought dead”.
Based on Darshan’s sister’s complaint, a case of hit-and-run was registered at J P Nagar Traffic Police Station.
However, the police, while reviewing CCTV footage, found it to be an intentional act, not an accident. “In the video, it can be seen that the driver deliberately dashed into Darshan’s scooter from behind and sped away,” a police officer said.
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The CCTV footage review showed that the accused couple returned to the accident site after a few minutes and parked their car at a distance.
“The couple, wearing masks, was seen collecting car parts that had come off during the ramming. They then drove back, and this time their faces were clearly visible,” a senior police officer said.
Soon after the discovery, the Puttenahalli police were informed about the incident.
The police have registered a case under sections 103 (1) (murder), 109 (attempt to murder), 238 (causing the disappearance of evidence or giving false information to shield an offender), 324(5) (commits mischief) with 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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Darshan is survived by his parents and sister, they added.