Ludhiana: Driver charged with murder after accident victim dies

The driver is said to have dropped mason Dalvir Singh Kala off in the fields of Bhumaddi village after the collision instead of taking him to a hospital.

The victim was under treatment for one and a half months before succumbing to his injuries. Khanna police on Friday added murder to the case and arrested Gurmeet Singh alias Kala from Dhanaula village in Barnala.

The defendant had previously applied for provisional release on bail because the police had arrested him for reckless driving and causing personal injury.

Davinder Singh, sub-inspector-in-charge of Issru police station, said the accused hit the victim, a resident of Kartar Nagar, Amloh Road in Khanna, with his jeep pickup on July 9 when the victim was on his way to see a doctor.

When the locals gathered, the accused promised to take the victim to a hospital but fled after tricking him in the fields.

The victim was found unconscious three days after the incident and was taken to the hospital. He was then referred to a government hospital in Chandigarh.

The sub-inspector said that the victim's brother, Kuldeep Singh, had filed a complaint with the police.

Sadar Khanna police have registered a case under sections 281 (reckless driving), 125 A (act endangering life or personal safety of others and causing hurt), 125 B (act endangering life or personal safety of others and causing grievous hurt), 324 (2) (committing purgatory) and 238 (intentionally causing disappearance of evidence relating to an offence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The SI said Section 103 (1) (murder) was added to the case on Friday and police are investigating whether the crime was planned.