NOIDA: Three days after a horrific incident in Noida’s Sector 39 police station area that took the lives of two young men, the Noida Police have yet to make any arrests. The inaction has sparked outrage among the victims’ families, who on Friday assembled in large numbers outside the District Magistrate’s (DM) office, staging a protest and demanding a fair investigation along with the immediate arrest of those responsible.
The victims have been identified as Basant and his friend Rohan. Their families have rejected the police’s claim that the incident was a road accident, alleging instead that the two youths were deliberately killed. Expressing strong dissatisfaction with what they termed the police’s lax approach, the families have called for a comprehensive probe into the matter.
Significantly, amid the ongoing protest, the post-mortem examination of one of the bodies has not yet been carried out. The families have insisted that the autopsy be conducted only after a case of murder is registered and the accused are taken into custody. They alleged that the victims were first assaulted and subsequently run over intentionally by an SUV.
Police officials stated that the incident occurred late on Tuesday night when an SUV allegedly rammed into a two-wheeler on which Basant and Rohan were riding, resulting in the death of both the rider and the pillion on the spot.
However, the circumstances of the crash have raised serious questions, with eyewitness testimonies pointing towards a possible road rage incident rather than a simple traffic accident.
According to reports, the collision was so forceful that Basant and Rohan were hurled into the railings near Army public school, with their motorcycle becoming entangled in the metal grille. Their bodies were found lying close to the bike, which, according to the families, suggests that the impact was fatal and left them no opportunity to escape.
A friend of the deceased, who was in the vicinity at the time, claimed that Basant and Rohan had earlier engaged in a heated exchange with another individual at a roadside eatery. He alleged that the confrontation later escalated into a road rage episode. “I saw the SUV strike their motorcycle. The vehicle had no number plate. It paused briefly, then made a U-turn and sped away. I attempted to chase it but lost sight of it due to dense fog,” he said.
Another friend stated that he followed the SUV for some distance but lost it at the next T-point after it turned right towards Army Public School. He added that visibility was extremely poor that night because of heavy fog.
Meanwhile, the police said five teams have been deployed to track down the SUV involved in the incident. “We are examining CCTV footage from the surrounding areas. The primary challenge is that the SUV was without a number plate. Nevertheless, our teams are working diligently, and we expect a breakthrough soon,” a senior police official said.
Shavya Goyal, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP), Noida, told The Daily Guardian that an FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for rash driving and causing death by negligence. “At present, a case has been registered against an unidentified SUV driver at Sector 39 police station. Our immediate priority is to ascertain the vehicle’s registration details and apprehend the suspects.
The investigation is being conducted from all possible angles, and the allegations raised by the family are being duly considered,” she said.
Despite these assurances, the families remain steadfast in their demand for swift arrests and a thorough investigation, warning that any further delay would only deepen their grief and erode their faith in the justice system.
The SHO of Sector 39 police station told the publication that the investigation is ongoing and that surveillance teams have been activated to identify the car involved in the incident. He said that the post-mortem examination of one of the deceased has been conducted, while the family of the other victim has refused to give consent for the procedure.
The SHO further stated that the police will examine CCTV footage based on information provided by one of the friends of the deceased. However, he declined to share any details about the vehicle at this stage, citing the ongoing investigation.
