Marketing executive killed by speeding Merc, ‘minor’ suspected

New Delhi, April 5

A 32-year-old marketing executive was killed by a speeding Mercedes allegedly driven by a minor at the posh Civil Lines area in north Delhi, police said on Tuesday.

The victim, Sidharth Sharma, was the marketing head of a private enterprise, and also pursuing professional degree from an institute here affiliated to Stratford University in US.

"The accused has been identified and he has turned out to be a minor. The minor is the son of the owner of the Mercedes and he will be apprehended soon," DCP (North) Madhur Verma said.

The police have not ruled out that this could be a case of drunken driving but refrained from commenting on the matter prior to medico-legal counselling.

According to police, the incident took place around 8.55 PM yesterday when Sharma's friend dropped him near an eatery in Civil Lines area. While he was about to cross the intersection near Ludlow Castle School there, a speeding Mercedes hit him.

Sharma was flung several feet into the air and landed at least 15 metres away, severely injured. Due to the impact of the accident, a tyre of the car burst and it stopped after a sharp drift on the road.

However, all occupants of the car fled the scene abandoning the vehicle there. Meanwhile, the police was informed and Sharma was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, a senior official said.

He said eye-witnesses told police that the car was being driven at high speed and that they had seen a few boys stepping out of the vehicle after the accident.

An eyewitness also told police that one of the occupants was held by some persons in the crowd, who later let him go on being convinced that he was not the one driving the car and also that the victim was not dead yet.

The police were also told that two bikers had a narrow escape from the car seconds before it knocked down Sharma.

"We have registered a case under relevant sections of the law and are monitoring CCTV footage to ascertain the identity of the accused. Statement of eye witnesses have been recorded," DCP (North) Madhur Verma said.

The abandoned Mercedes was impounded by the police and its owner turned out to be a Delhi-based businessman who resides in Civil Lines area.

The businessman told police that it was his driver who had last taken out the vehicle, following which the driver was questioned for hours, the official said.

CCTV footage obtained from the area was checked thoroughly and eye-witness accounts were matched with the details.

The official said on further investigation, it turned out that the car was  being driven by the businessman's 17-year-old son, who reportedly did not return home after the incident and the police were looking for him.

The businessman's driver turned out to be one of the occupants in the car and it is suspected that he was being pressurised to not disclose the juvenile's name. This is a matter of investigation, the official said.

Sharma had earlier worked in a project with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. He was a resident of Yamuna Road in north Delhi. His body has been sent for postmortem examination. — PTI