Dwarka SUV crash: FIR filed against father of minor; victim’s postmortem reveals skull fracture, brain oedema

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has filed an FIR against the father of a 17-year-old boy for allegedly allowing him to illegally drive his SUV. The boy was at the wheel of the vehicle when it collided with a motorcycle and a cab, resulting in the death of the biker, 23-year-old Sahil Dhaneshra, in Sector 11 of Dwarka on Feb 3.Sahil sustained severe brain injuries and multiple fractures, according to his postmortem report. Police have seized the SUV and invoked against the father provisions under Section 199A of Motor Vehicles Act, which hold guardians or vehicle owners accountable when a minor commits a traffic offence. Penalties under this section include imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of Rs 25,000 and cancellation of the vehicle's registration for a year. The father was bound down and will be formally chargesheeted, Ankit Singh, deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka), said.Cops, who had been alerted about the accident at 11.57 am, found the motorcycle, the SUV and the cab in severely damaged condition. Sahil was declared dead on the spot, while Ajit Singh, the cab driver, sustained injuries. "Preliminary investigations indicate that the motorcycle and SUV collided head on. Following the impact, the SUV lost control and crashed into the cab parked along the roadside," a police officer said.Just after the accident, the SUV driver claimed he was 19 years old, the officer said. However, police later found out that he was 17, and was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to an observation home. He was granted interim bail on Feb 10 so that he could write his Class X examinations.Sahil's mother alleged that the SUV had 12 challans pertaining to overspeeding against it. Police are trying to corroborate the claim from the Centre's ‘parivahan' portal. They are also studying a purported video of the collision circulating online to establish the sequence of events.According to Sahil's postmortem report, he suffered a fracture in the left temporo-parietal bone in the skull and had a generalised brain oedema. Blood clots were found in his oral cavity and multiple ribs on the left side of his chest were fractured. Explaining the nature of Sahil's injuries, a doctor said that the severe head injuries caused heavy bleeding and swelling inside his brain, particularly on the left side. Blood had collected between the brain and its outer covering. The entire brain was swollen because of bleeding and bruising.