Delhi man, 73, arrested after car drags motorbike 500m in R.K. Puram
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
A 73-year-old man was arrested by Delhi Police after his car struck a parked motorcycle and dragged it nearly 500 metres along a road in southwest Delhi's R.K. Puram area late on Thursday night. The incident, which was captured on video and has since surfaced widely, shows the car travelling along a tree-lined road with the motorcycle lodged underneath it, sending sparks flying as it moved.
What the Video Shows
The footage reveals a man on a scooter closely trailing the car, repeatedly urging the driver to stop. 'Hey, stop. Move aside,' the man can be heard saying as the elderly driver continues without halting. A woman riding pillion on the scooter filmed the incident and later approached the car once it came to a stop. Opening the door, she firmly told the driver, 'Come outside. Don't fold your hands, come out first.'
The driver, identified as Venu Gopal, a resident of Vasant Kunj, was seen folding his hands in an apparent gesture of apology as a crowd gathered around the vehicle. A man in the crowd grabbed him by the collar. The video also shows a woman slapping Gopal during the confrontation, while another bystander could be heard calling him 'shameless.'
The Motorcycle Rider's Account
The rider of the motorcycle, identified as Tapas, was present at the scene and confronted the elderly driver. 'If it was a mistake, you could have stopped. I could have died,' Tapas told him. According to a preliminary police enquiry, Tapas had been sitting on his parked motorcycle on the roadside when the blue car, driven by Gopal, struck it. The impact caused Tapas to fall, after which the car continued moving with the bike trapped underneath for approximately 500 metres.
Police Action and Investigation
Delhi Police confirmed that Gopal has been arrested and the car impounded for further investigation. Officials said a medical examination conducted after the incident did not indicate that the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time. Investigators are continuing to examine the exact sequence of events and the circumstances that led to the collision and the subsequent dragging of the motorcycle.
Wider Context: Rising Road Incidents in Delhi-NCR
This incident comes close on the heels of a separate case in Gurugram, where a car driver allegedly deliberately rammed a woman biker belonging to a biker club, also resulting in an arrest. Taken together, the two cases have renewed public attention on road safety and driver accountability in the Delhi-NCR region. Critics argue that incidents where vehicles continue moving after a collision — whether due to negligence or awareness failure — point to gaps in driver training and enforcement of traffic norms. The ongoing R.K. Puram probe will likely determine whether charges beyond rash driving are pressed against Gopal.