The 34-year-old son of former Union minister and sitting BJP MLA Renuka Singh has been booked in a case of hit-and-run after his car allegedly rammed into a biker in Raipur in the early hours of Monday. The biker is said to be in critical condition.
According to officials, Balwant Singh alias Lucky, 34, was coming towards Raipur’s Telibandha area from Arang, and was driving his friend’s vehicle. Along with Balwant, three of his friends were also in the car. The incident took place at around 1 am.
The victim, 34-year-old Tribhuvan Thakur, is a DJ who was returning home after work and was taking a left turn when the car Balwant was purportedly driving rammed into him at a speed of around 80-100 kmph, police said.
Following the impact, Tribhuvan was thrown off the bike and dragged along by the car for a few metres, police said. They alleged that after the incident, the car tried to speed away, but rammed into a divider around 2 km away.
An official from the Telibandha police station said, “The victim has suffered grievous injuries on his head, ribs, legs and back. He is in a critical condition.”
An FIR was registered against Balwant under BNS sections 125 (a) (endangering personal safety of others) and 281 (rash and negligent driving).
“Once we receive a report from the doctor on the condition of the victim, then appropriate sections will be added to the FIR, and the accused will be arrested,” said the official.
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Tribhuvan’s brother, Rajnarayan Thakur, told The Indian Express, “At night, I received a phone call from friends of my brother, who is a DJ. He had completed his work at an event and was returning home with his friends. His friends stopped at a pan shop to buy cigarettes, and my brother decided to drive ahead. This is when he got hit by the car. His friends said that those who witnessed the incident told them that my brother was dragged by the car for a few metres.”
Rajnarayan said it was Tribhuvan’s friends who got a car and rushed him to hospital. He was taken to the government-run DKS Super Speciality Hospital first, and then he was transferred to MMI Narayana Multi-Speciality Hospital for better treatment.
“At present, my brother is in the ICU and is unconscious. He has a wife and three daughters — a one-year-old, a two-year-old and a six-month-old. I don’t want to speak a lot against the accused as they are paying for the treatment of my brother,” he said.
MLA Renuka Singh, Balwant’s mother, was the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs between 2019 and 2023, and is the incumbent MLA from Bharatpur-Sonhat (ST seat) constituency in the Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district of Chhattisgarh.
