GURUGRAM: Tears and grief marked the streets of Gurugram early on Saturday evening when friends and family of Sarthak Mattoo, who was involved in a fatal collision on the morning of June 25 near South Delhi’s Rajokri flyover, held a solidarity march to the Galleria Market in DLF Phase IV.
A crowd of 250-odd residents held candles and signs demanding justice for Mattoo, who was allegedly struck by a speeding SUV allegedly being driven under the influence of alcohol. Speaking to TNIE, Surender Mattoo, the father of the victim, blamed gross negligence by police and the authorities in framing charges against the driver. “It is unbelievable that our so-called diligent police took over 45 hours to apprehend the culprit. And when they were, the police continued with routine procedure, and the accused was out on bail in no time,” he exclaimed.
Mattoo added, “We only got a call from the Vasant Kunj police station later the next day at 10 pm to notify us of a further delay in taking away the accused for an alcohol test at Safdarjung hospital. What possible traces are they going to find after 50 hours?”
While the crowd swelled at the assembly point of the march, the family was joined by multiple other families with their own stories to tell.
“My son, a regular rider, was hit by an underage driver who was making Snapchat shorts. He was in the air for 50 feet and fell to the ground bare-bodied,” said Inna Makan, the mother of 23-year-old Sahil Dhaneshra, who fell victim to a similar speeding case on February 3 in South Delhi’s Dwarka.
“People have become so insensitive. There is no trial or justice for what is happening to our sons out there on roads. My son died at the hands of an underage driver, and the law is not on our side,” added Makan.
“August 23, 2020, Cyber Hub, Alok Gupta. My husband did not deserve to die. He was in full gear, riding with a helmet,” said Mihika Gupta, another survivor of a similar hit-and-run case in the Delhi-NCR. Within 15 minutes, my whole life was shattered. My son has quit college twice and has been taking therapy for the past 6 years, grieving the loss of his father,” she added.