Faridabad road rage: ACP’s son was driving Thar that mowed down and killed property dealer

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A 26-year-old man, the son of an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), was driving a Mahindra Thar registered in his father's name when he fatally ran over a property dealer during a road rage incident in Faridabad’s Sector 12 early Monday, The Times of India reported, citing police.

The accused, Himanshu Kumar, son of ACP (Sarai) Rajesh Kumar Lohan, was arrested on Tuesday along with his two friends — Nishant Sehrawat, 27, and Keshav Chaudhary, 30.

SI Yashpal, a police spokesperson, was quoted by TOI as saying that the accused were presented before a court and sent to judicial custody on Wednesday.

Fourth suspect in custody as police probe role in incident

As per the report, a fourth suspect was also detained by the police but he is yet to be arrested because his role in the incident is being determined.

The victim, Manoj Kumar Mangla, was returning from Vrindavan with friends in the early hours of Sunday. The group stopped at a restaurant in Sector 12 around 1.30 am.

Mangla's brother Vicky Kumar was quoted by TOI as saying that the property dealer was struck by Thar that crushed him under its wheels when he asked the driver to slow down. Then, the Thar driver allegedly reversed the SUV to run him over a second time before fleeing. Mangla was rushed to a private hospital but succumbed to his injuries there.

"The accused were not performing stunts. The altercation escalated after the Thar attempted to overtake the Scorpio in which Mangla was a passenger. Mangla's friends tried to block the Thar and force its occupants out of the SUV," a senior police officer was quoted as saying.

"We are investigating all possible angles and will take appropriate legal action after gathering necessary evidence," the officer added.

Initially, Faridabad police have registered a case under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of BNS but revised the charge to murder following allegations from Mangla's family.

As per the report, Mangla's family had accused cops of shielding the suspects because of their connections – an accusation that the force denied. Subsequently, a special investigation team led by DCP Usha Devi was formed to probe the case. Another senior police officer said the investigation is being carried out strictly "as per the law".