New Delhi:
Nineteen-year-old Rishal Singh was fighting all odds to continue his education and build a better future for himself and his family. The Delhi University student distributed newspapers every morning to fund his studies. But his inspiring journey was cut short when a rashly driven car hit his bicycle while he was out on his morning round, distributing newspapers in northwest Delhi’s Rohini area. The car did not stop to help. Rishal was rushed to a hospital and doctors declared him dead.
A week after the tragic accident, police have cracked the blind hit-and-run case and tracked down the vehicle and its occupants at the time of the accident, just before they could destroy key evidence. Pankaj Gupta (40) and his nephew Saurabh Gupta (26) have been arrested.
How The Accident Happened
According to police, Pankaj and Saurabh were returning from a temple in Kashmiri Gate on March 1 morning. Saurabh was at the wheel and the car was at high speed. Around 6 am, the car hit Rishal’s bicycle at Rohini’s KN Katju Marg. Such was the impact that the 19-year-old was swept off his feet and landed on the car’s windscreen. His cycle was dragged under the car before it eventually sped away, leaving the youngster dead on the spot.
How Police Tracked Down Killer Car
To identify the car that hit Rishal, police scanned footage from more than 150 CCTV cameras. After piecing together the sequence of events, police tracked down the car to a garage in Haryana’s Panipat. The investigation revealed that the windscreen and bonnet of the blue Hyundai Venue car were damaged in the crash. And the accused tried to fix the vehicle and destroy evidence. But before this could be done, the police tracked down and seized the vehicle.
A Dream Journey Cut Short
A resident of Budh Vihar, Rishal Singh has four siblings — three sisters, who are married, and a younger brother, a Class 8 student. His father works as a labourer in a utensils factory. Rishal would make about Rs 10,000 by distributing newspapers. Besides supporting the family income, he would use the money for his education. The 19-year-old was a first-year student at Delhi University’s School of Open Learning. The tragic crash extinguished a young life and crushed his family’s hopes for a better future. The family now hopes for justice.
Inputs by Hari Sharma
