Delhi man, 73, arrested after car drags motorbike 500m in R.K. Puram

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Delhi man, 73, arrested after car drags motorbike 500m in R.K. Puram

Synopsis

A 73-year-old Delhi resident drove with a motorcycle lodged beneath his car for nearly 500 metres in R.K. Puram — all while bystanders chased him and pleaded with him to stop. The viral video, confrontation, and the rider's stark words — 'I could have died' — have reignited the road-safety debate in Delhi-NCR, days after a near-identical incident in Gurugram.

Key Takeaways

Venu Gopal , 73 , of Vasant Kunj , was arrested after his car struck and dragged a motorcycle nearly 500 metres in R.K.
Puram , southwest Delhi.
The motorcycle rider, Tapas , was parked on the roadside when the blue car hit him; he fell but survived.
A video capturing sparks flying from beneath the car has surfaced and circulated widely online.
Delhi Police confirmed the driver's arrest and impounded the vehicle for further investigation.
A post-incident medical examination found no evidence of alcohol consumption by the driver.
The case follows a similar alleged deliberate hit-and-run involving a woman biker in Gurugram , raising broader road-safety concerns in the Delhi-NCR region.

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.

Point of View

One in Gurugram — expose a recurring pattern that goes beyond individual negligence. The fact that Gopal drove for nearly half a kilometre with a motorcycle wedged beneath his car, despite being flagged down repeatedly, raises uncomfortable questions about elderly driver fitness assessments in India, which remain largely self-reported. The absence of any alcohol involvement makes the failure harder to explain away, and harder to fix with the usual enforcement blitz. Until India introduces periodic mandatory re-testing for older drivers and mandates in-car alert systems for under-vehicle obstructions, these incidents will keep producing viral videos without producing systemic change.
NationPress
18 Sept 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened in the R.K. Puram car-drags-motorcycle incident in Delhi?
A 73-year-old driver, Venu Gopal of Vasant Kunj, struck a parked motorcycle ridden by a man identified as Tapas in the R.K. Puram area of southwest Delhi late Thursday night. His car then continued moving for nearly 500 metres with the motorcycle trapped underneath, until bystanders forced it to stop.
Was the Delhi driver drunk at the time of the incident?
No. A medical examination conducted by Delhi Police after the arrest of Venu Gopal did not indicate that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. Investigators are still probing the exact circumstances that led to the collision.
What action has Delhi Police taken against the driver?
Delhi Police arrested Venu Gopal and impounded his car for further investigation. The preliminary enquiry confirmed that the vehicle dragged the motorcycle approximately 500 metres before stopping. The investigation is ongoing to determine the full sequence of events and applicable charges.
Was the motorcycle rider injured in the R.K. Puram incident?
The source does not report specific injuries to Tapas, though he was thrown off the motorcycle on impact. Tapas was present at the scene and confronted the driver, telling him, 'I could have died.' His precise medical condition was not detailed in the police statement.
How does this Delhi incident relate to the recent Gurugram biker case?
Both incidents involved a car striking a two-wheeler in the Delhi-NCR region within a close timeframe. In the Gurugram case, a driver allegedly deliberately hit a woman biker who was part of a biker club, also resulting in an arrest. Together, the two cases have drawn public attention to road safety and driver accountability in the region.
Nation Press
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