Drunk youth in Mercedes runs over Bengaluru woman, claiming her life

A 20-year-old man driving a Mercedes-Benz car allegedly under the influence of alcohol ran over a woman in Bengaluru, police said on Nov 5.

Police identified the deceased as Sandhya A S (30), a resident of Basaveshwara Nagar. The accused Dhanush was arrested, and the driven by him was seized, police said.

After hitting Sandhya, Dhanush allegedly also crashed into a biker Syed Arbaz (23), leaving him injured.

Police sources said the accident occurred around 6.45 pm near the Kengeri Traffic Transit Management Centre. Sandhya was crossing the road when Dhanush, who was driving the car AMG GLC43, knocked her down and then hit the biker.

Dhanush allegedly attempted to flee but the passersby held him and reportedly found him under the influence of alcohol. A test showed 177 mg/100 ml of alcohol in his blood against the permissible limit of 30 mg/100 ml, a police source was quoted as saying.

The accused is the son of Parameshwar, who owns the private bus firm L V Travels.

Sandhya was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors declared her brought dead. Her family members alleged that the Kengeri traffic police were reluctant to register an FIR initially. Her uncle Umesh told reporters the FIR was registered on Nov 3 around 3 am at the R R Nagar police station as the IT system in Kengeri traffic police station was down.

“I got to know about the accident only at 9.15 pm on Nov 2 as the police traced Sandhya through her Aadhaar card. She reached Kengeri by 6.30 pm on a Metro train to visit a shop, where she was a co-owner,” said Umesh.

“We had to find an eyewitness. We requested one Puneeth, who witnessed the accident, to come to the police station, and the police filed the FIR based on his statement,” he added.

Police have filed a case under sections 185 (driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol) of the Motor Vehicles Act and 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 125(a) (endangering personal safety causing hurt), and 281 (rash driving) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Sandhya was married and previously worked as a voice-over artist in radio stations, police said.