Gurugram Police on Tuesday arrested Kalyan Bainsla, the driver accused of ramming his car into a woman motorcyclist on Golf Course Road, from Dausa in Rajasthan. The arrest came hours after police added an attempt-to-murder charge to the case, following an examination of CCTV footage of the incident.
The case was initially registered on Monday under Sections 125 and 281 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to endangering personal safety and rash driving. Police later added Section 109, which deals with attempt to murder.
The incident took place early on Sunday when Sia, a Delhi-based biker, was riding her Aprilia RS 457 with a group of motorcyclists. A video of the incident shows a white sedan suddenly swerving towards Sia and hitting her bike. She was thrown to the ground as the motorcycle slid across the road. The footage subsequently went viral, prompting the Gurugram Police to take suo motu cognisance and register a case.
Speaking to NDTV, Sia alleged that the driver had been following her and repeatedly gesturing for her to stop. She said she had asked the driver to maintain a safe distance but claimed he continued to pursue her. Sia also alleged that the occupants of the car were drunk and said one of her friends attempted to prevent the vehicle from intercepting her before it rammed into her bike.
Calling the incident a “clear hit-and-run and attempt-to-murder case”, Sia told NDTV that she would continue pursuing the matter. “He thinks he will just hit a woman and speed away and nothing would happen to him,” she said. Sia's father, Rohshan Chauhan, also said the family “will not rest until the accused is punished”, according to NDTV.
Before his arrest, Kalyan Bainsla appeared in a media interview from an undisclosed location and denied deliberately hitting Sia. According to ANI, he said he was travelling with his family and claimed he had only asked the biker to slow down. “I admit that a collision occurred. Had I stopped right then, those people would have beaten us up,” he said.
Bainsla further claimed that Sia was turning near a U-turn without checking her mirrors and that he lost control of the car, resulting in the crash. “It was my fault; I admit it,” he said. He also claimed that he fled because he feared being attacked by a mob.
Sia rejected Bainsla's claim that he felt sorry for her after the crash. “If you really felt sorry for me, then why didn't you stop? It was your responsibility. If you hit me, you should have stopped and checked whether I was injured,” she said, according to NDTV.
She said the consequences could have been much more serious. “I could have suffered much more serious injuries. My bones could have been broken. I could have died on the spot,” she added. Sia also questioned the decision of the occupants to leave without checking on her after the collision.
Bainsla's lawyer disputed Sia's account and argued that she had been riding at excessive speed. Speaking to NDTV, the lawyer claimed the biker was travelling at “140-170 kmph” and accused her of using the incident to gain social media followers and publicity. “The road is not for stunts, this road is not for speed,” he said. The lawyer also maintained that the collision was accidental and said the four occupants of the car left the scene fearing a possible “lynching”.
Meanwhile, Sia's family has continued to allege that the crash was deliberate. Her brother told ANI that she was experiencing something akin to “trauma” following the incident and alleged that there were “four drunk people” inside the car.
