The 20-year-old engineering student accused of intentionally reversing his Thar SUV into an elderly businessman after knocking him off his scooter was on Thursday remanded to six days in police custody by the Third Additional Munsiff’s court in Jammu.
After reviewing the case diary and the medical fitness certificate of the accused, the court noted that the police investigation is at a preliminary stage. Also acknowledging that one of the charges — Section 109 BNS — is of a serious and non-bailable nature, it granted the police custody of the accused, identified as Mannan Anand, until August 5.
Instructing the police to get a medical examination conducted on the accused every 24 hours, the court directed the police to produce him before a competent court before the expiry of the remand period.
Anand, who was absconding after the Thar he was allegedly driving hit 68-year-old Kamal Dutt in the upmarket Gandhi Nagar area of Jammu on Sunday afternoon, was arrested on Wednesday.
The victim was moved to Fortis Hospital in Punjab on Wednesday after his condition worsened at the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu.
The J&K Police had multiple teams looking for the driver of the vehicle after CCTV footage of the incident went viral and drew outrage. The footage shows the Thar hitting Kamal Dutt’s scooter while overtaking another vehicle, causing the latter to fall. The car then drives forward, and when Dutt stands up, it reverses onto him.
Subsequently, the driver is seen coming out of the SUV and standing over an unconscious Dutt before getting back in the vehicle and driving away.
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While the footage showed passersby watching, no one came to Dutt’s aid. Dutt was eventually taken to hospital by his family members who arrived at the scene after hearing about the incident. He is said to have suffered severe head injuries.
