A 37-year-old biker died of a head injury, possibly when trying to avoid hitting a pothole in south Delhi’s Tigri area. Rashid Khan had a helmet, but he was not wearing it and it was dangling in his hand, police have said. They are now investigating if he suffered the head injury due to a fall or if it was a hit-and-run case.

According to police, the Sangam Vihar was found near a pothole with a head injury. Next to him were his bike and helmet. He was rushed to the AIIMS trauma centre, but doctors declared him dead. Mr Khan had a four-inch long and 1.5-inch deep gash on his head.

A policeman said the area is not under CCTV coverage. “The preliminary investigation suggests that he was riding at a speed and that his helmet was in his hand. He lost his balance and fell into a six-inch-deep pothole filled with sewage water,” he said.

Police also suspect that Khan’s bike may have hit another vehicle, leading to the accident and the head injury. Police have registered a case under sections related to rash driving. The cause of death will only be confirmed after autopsy, they said.

A jurisdiction battle has broken out between the Public Works Department and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation over whose responsibility it was to fix the pothole.

“PWD has written many times to them (DMRC) for repair of roads, but things did not improve. A few days ago, PWD engineers were directed to get the roads repaired in their area and to debit expenditure from DMRC,” he said.

A spokesperson from DMRC, however, said the stretch of road where the accident took place is not under DMRC’s jurisdiction. “After verifying the matter, DMRC has confirmed that the area in question is not under our authority,” he said.

Rashid Khan, who lived with his mother, worked for a private firm and earned around Rs 25,000 per month, news agency PTI reported.

According to a report in The Times of India, Khan’s family suspects he had been murdered. A relative said he had been receiving threats and that he did not usually take that route to return home.