A horrifying incident reminiscent of the recent heinous accident in Delhi occurred when a man riding a bike with his wife collided with an SUV and was dragged for nearly 12 kilometers until his body dropped loose from the vehicle and fell on the ground.
While the police were initially puzzled by the events, a young man had captured the entire incident by trailing the fleeing SUV and its driver. This aided officials in determining the truth. However, the driver, a builder whose name the car is registered under, had long since left, abandoning the vehicle and the victim’s body.
Surat SP H H Joysar said, “The incident took place at the end of Surat city at Tantithaiya village of Palsana on Monday night. Sagar and Ashwini Patil were victims of the hit-and-run incident wherein a car hit the couple’s bike from behind. After the accident, Ashwini Patil was thrown off the vehicle and fell on the road but Sagar got entangled under the car. The driver of the car drove, dragging Sagar for 12 km under the vehicle.”
Victim’s body found in another taluka-
The police filed a complaint and began an investigation, but the investigation was stalled due to a lack of CCTV cameras and other witnesses in the rural area. A young man then came forward with a mobile phone video recording. The man followed the car all the way. He saw the car dragging Sagar Patil’s body behind it and started filming it on his phone. Because the KIA Carnival SUV’s registration could not be seen at night, he spelled it out on camera, which can be heard in the video.
Based on the Good Samaritan’s video of the car and its registration number, police used GPS coordinates to locate the SUV on the Surat-Katodara road. The vehicle’s driver had abandoned it in an open field in Saroli. The wreckage was visible on the car.
A check of the SUV’s ownership revealed that it belonged to Biren Shiva Ladumor (Ahir), a Sarthana resident involved in the construction business. According to SP Joysar, Ladumor is currently on the run.
The youth who recorded the video said, “I was headed to Surat through the interior roads of Kosmadi village in Kamrej, and this particular car was in front of me. On approaching a speed-breaker, I realised there was a person under the car. I couldn’t believe it at first, so I followed the car which was travelling fast. I opened my mobile camera and tried to capture what was happening. I spoke out the number because the registration plates couldn’t be seen in the dark. However, we couldn’t follow for very long as the car was moving very fast.”
At the hospital, Ashwini Patil who survived, said, “I was visiting my aunt in Bagumara and my husband had come to pick me up from there. We were on the way to Surat at about 10 pm when the car hit us and drove away. I fell on the road, but couldn’t find my husband. I kept looking for him. The car driver killed my husband. He could have taken him to hospital and saved his life. I hope he gets the harshest punishment.”