Man riding Royal Enfield killed in hit-and-run in Delhi, accused nabbed — 16 days later

Sixteen days after the incident, police arrested the accused — 29-year-old Rajeev Ranjan — on Sunday.

Following the accident, an FIR under sections 281 (rash driving) and 125(A) (act endangering life and personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at RK Puram police station. After Pratyush’s death, BNS Section 106(1) (causing death by negligence) was also added.

Investigators said it was a “blind” case since there were no eyewitnesses or clear CCTV visuals of the accident.

DCP (Southwest) Amit Goel said, “The team reviewed CCTV footage along Ring Road, from Dhaula Kuan to Bhikaji Cama Place, and traced a Mahindra Bolero pickup trailing the victims’ motorcycle. Though the number plate was unclear, the team backtracked the suspected routes through multiple areas in Delhi-NCR. More than 2,000 CCTV and ANPR cameras were analysed with the assistance of the Dwarka Expressway Control Room, Todapur Traffic Control, DND Toll Plaza, NHAI, and Dasna Control Rooms.”

A fresh round of surveillance was launched, tracking vehicles entering Delhi-NCR within 24 hours of the incident, said police.

The breakthrough came from Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) footage of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway on August 8, where the pickup was spotted around 5.30 am. Investigators traced it to its registered owner and arrested the accused driver, Ranjan, from Malikpur in Rangpuri.

Police said Ranjan, who hails from Samalkha and is a Class 9 dropout, has been working as a driver for the last two years. On the day of the incident, he was transporting organic manure from Gurgaon to Bhimtal in Uttarakhand.

During questioning, he allegedly told police that he was in a hurry and struck the motorcycle. He said he fled, fearing arrest, even as the victims were trapped under his vehicle.

The Bolero pickup has been seized, and further investigation is on, said police.