Delhi: On the morning of June 25th in Delhi, Sarthak Mattoo, a bright son and a talented employee, was commuting to his workplace on his motorbike from Gurgaon to Noida. Just as he reached the Rajokri Flyover in southwest Delhi at around 6:30 am, a speeding Mahindra Thar allegedly crashed into him, throwing Sarthak off his bike onto the desolate road. He died by the time he was escorted to a hospital. The accused drivers have still not been detained by the police, and in response, the devastated parents of Sarthak published an appeal video where the grief-stricken couple were desperately seeking justice.
Sarthak’s father, Surendra Mattoo, holding back tears, claimed that the accused are roaming free and conveyed that the couple are “dead inside.” The family claimed that there were delays in collecting evidence and they are demanding a strict investigation. Shedding light on the family’s past, Surendra described the traumatic loss of his parents; as Kashmiri Pandits, they died unable to bear the mental wounds caused by the burning of their homes and the terror they endured. Sarthak was left unattended for around fifteen minutes before a passerby reacted to his critical state and purportedly unlocked Sarthak’s phone using his fingerprint to call one of his office colleagues to inform about the accident. “The least the accused could have done was take him to the hospital, but he just ran over him and left him to die,” the father complained, highlighting the inhumane nature of the accident. He also alleged that the accused were under the influence of alcohol; furthermore, he revealed that the blood samples of the suspects were allegedly taken by the authorities late, around 50 hours after the incident, raising the question of whether they could even detect alcohol.
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As soon as the call was received by Akash Deep Choudhary, Sarthak’s colleague, from the passerby, he quickly rushed to the spot and brought the police into action; however, his efforts to take him to the hospital failed, as Sarthak was already breathing his final moments on the way and succumbed to his injuries. Delhi Police have identified the vehicle involved in the accident and found that the SUV was registered in Karnataka and belonged to a Bengaluru-based private company. According to the police, the car was leased to Sagar Saha, aged 29, from Bihar. Police added that his friend, Apurv Singh, 30, was driving, and Saha was in the passenger seat.
Around a week has passed, and the accused have not been arrested, which points to a lack of speedy justice and raises several questions regarding the methodology. The parents have lost their one and only son in an accident that should not have taken place in the first instance; there should be no need for an appeal video by pain-ridden parents making so many allegations. However, the unrushed investigation is underway.