Bhopal: Speeding Thar kills 2, critically injures 1 on Arwalia Bypass; driver absconds

BHOPAL: A speeding red Thar SUV allegedly mowed down three people on the Arwalia Bypass Road near Arwalia Gaushala in the Eintkhedi area on Sunday evening, killing two men and leaving one critically injured.

The Eintkhedi police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide, and rash driving against the absconding SUV driver.According to the complaint filed by 24-year-old Sheikh Farooq, a resident of Arwalia village, he was at his puncture repair shop near the Arwalia Bypass around 6 pm on October 20 when the incident occurred. His father, Mukhtar Khan, 45, and another villager, Pappu alias Sher Singh Thakur, were standing near the shop talking.

Meanwhile, Gani Khan, 64, was riding his motorcycle from Arwalia toward Lambakheda.At that moment, a red Thar SUV coming from the Indore side at high speed hit Gani Khan’s motorcycle, dragged him along the road, and then rammed into Mukhtar Khan, Pappu Thakur, and Farooq’s parked motorcycle near the shop. The SUV eventually veered off the road, and the driver fled the scene, abandoning the vehicle.Farooq and his brother Shahrukh rushed their injured father and Pappu Thakur to a private hospital, where doctors advised that Mukhtar Khan be shifted to Hamidia Hospital.

However, doctors at Hamidia declared him brought dead. Meanwhile, Gani Khan was also brought to Hamidia Hospital by his relatives, where he too succumbed to his injuries. Pappu alias Sher Singh Thakur is undergoing treatment at a private hospital and remains in critical condition.Eintkhedi police have seized the SUV and launched a manhunt to trace the absconding driver. Further investigation into the case is underway.Eintkhedi SHO Ashish Sapre said that the errant driver fled the spot after the fatal accident, leaving the Thar SUV overturned beside the road.He added that two versions of the incident have emerged during the preliminary investigation. “In the first version, witnesses claim that the Thar SUV was being driven at a very high and uncontrolled speed. The driver first hit the people standing by the roadside and then rammed into the motorcycle.

In the second version, some locals said that the motorcyclist was crossing the road, and in an attempt to avoid hitting him, the driver lost control and crashed into both the bike and the bystanders.

The exact sequence of events will become clear once the driver is traced and questioned,” SHO Sapre said. He further stated that the police called a crane and seized the SUV from the spot.“Preliminary information suggests that the absconding driver is a resident of the Karond area and works part-time as a used car broker. He was coming from the Indore or Parwalia side when the accident occurred,” the SHO added.