Tragic: A homecoming that wasn’t to be

For many factory workers in the Badli Industrial Area in Outer North Delhi, walking back from work to their homes – located nearby – is a routine feature.

So it was meant to be for 32-year-old Sujeet Mandal, who had finished up his day’s work on Tuesday and was strutting back home. But this homecoming was not to be.

Barely 600 metres from his house, Mandal was mowed down by a red car and dragged for nearly 600 meters. The deceased was a resident of Raja Vihar and worked at a PVC pipe manufacturing unit, the same place where his brother-in-law Jitesh also worked.

Shocked and traumatised by his relative’s sudden death, Jitesh on Wednesday demanded strict action against the offender. “Sujeet was the sole breadwinner of the family. Who will take care of them now? Asked an inconsolable Jitesh.

When The Tribune correspondent reporter visited the area, it seemed normal, vehicles were plying past, workers going to the factory.

The accident did not take place on the main road but on an interior road, which generally remains traffic free. The minor boy - the perpetrator - knowingly dragged Sujeet and has been detained.

Jitesh said he could have stopped the vehicle, rushed Sujeet to hospital and tried to save him. CCTV footage of the incident emerged today. It shows the victim being knocked down by Grand i10 and dragged under the car for a fair distance.

A cyclist can also be seen in the footage trying to alert the driver, but the vehicle can be seen continuing to move until the body falls off on its own. The minor is then seen fleeing the crime spot.

Shyam Lal, a street food vendor at the end of the road, said he saw people trying to chase the car.

“When I went to the place where people had gathered, I saw a worker lying lifeless, his clothes torn and bloodied,” he said, shivering from the recollection of the shocking memory. Sadly though, overnight rain caused the traces of Sujeet’s blood to vanish from the road.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Hareshwar confirmed that CCTV cameras in the vicinity captured the sequence of events.

Using the vehicle’s registration number visible in CCTV footage, investigators tracked the car to Mondoli, where it was found parked at a residence. Within six hours of the accident, the 16-year-old driver, a resident of Rohini, was detained.

He was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, and the car was seized for forensic analysis, the cop added.

In his statement, the boy told the police that he took the car to a workshop and panicked after the accident.

“The minor claimed he fled the scene fearing he would be attacked by onlookers,” the officer said.

The case brings back memories of the 2023 tragedy in Kanjhawala where on the night of the New Year, Anjali Kumari was hit by a car and her body dragged along the road underneath the vehicle for around 90 minutes. She was dragged for 10-12 km and found mutilated on a road in the busy national capital.