Man who rammed into biker in Ggm does not have driving license, had fines pending

Gurugram: The driver of the SUV driving on the wrong side of Golf Course Road that was involved in a head-on crash with a speeding motorcycle, resulting in the death of a 23-year-old man, is a politically connected individual who may not have a driving licence, police said on Friday.

The police added that the driver, identified as 25-year-old Kuldeep Kumar Thakur, is a habitual offender; that the SUV was flagged for being parked wrongly twice in the past month. They said the fines were unpaid.

The accident took place at 5.45am on Sunday and the motorcyclist, Akshat Garg, 23, a resident of Pochanpur in Dwarka, Delhi, was killed at the spot despite wearing protective gear. Garg was on the lane meant for fast vehicles, and took a turn at speed, only to come face-to-face with the SUV going the wrong way.

Garg’s friend and office colleague Pradyuman Kumar was following him on another motorcycle and a GoPro camera on his helmet recorded the high-speed crash.

The police initially ignored the footage but later took a copy of it from Kumar.

Vikas Kaushik, assistant commissioner of police, (DLF), said Thakur, who was arrested before being given bail, has been served notice to submit his licence.

“But even after reminders, he has not submitted his DL yet which clearly indicates that he doesn’t have one. We will soon invoke relevant sections of Motor Vehicle Act in the case of such a scenario,” he added.

Kaushik said Thakur owned a firm that did social media marketing for politicians during elections.

“He ran a firm which handled social media advertising and political campaigns. He had a sticker of Gaurav Gautam, the BJP candidate from Palwal in the upcoming Haryana polls, on his SUV. He was handling Gautam’s online campaign,” Kaushik said.

Kaushik said officials are monitoring the case and police may invoke more stringent penal provisions in the case, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder which attracts jail term of 10 years or life imprisonment.

Wrong-side driving, especially on access-controlled roads, and on and under flyovers is endemic all across the NCR, and police have done little to stop the menace.

Originally from Madhubani in Bihar, Thakur lived in Delhi’s Ghitorni. Kaushik said the 25-year-old’s blood samples were collected after his arrest from the spot and will be sent for forensic analysis to ascertain if he was drunk.

“If report is positive, then further stringent sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita will be invoked in the case. However, preliminary investigations indicate that he was in his complete sense while driving in the wrong direction. We are carrying out all the legal procedures in the case,” he said, adding they will soon submit a charge sheet in the case.

Garg had completed his diploma in mechanical engineering from a college in Gurugram in 2021.

“He joined Expedia Group, an American firm, almost one-and- a-half-years back and was promoted last month due to his excellent performance,” his elder brother Mayank Garg said.

The spot on the Golf Course Road where Garg died has seen three severe accidents in the past six months.