Punjab: Man hits cyclist with his car, carries body for 10 km; held

A man was arrested in Punjab's Mohali for allegedly hitting a cyclist with his car, the impact flinging him onto the vehicle's roof, and driving away with the body for 10 km before dumping it, police said on Thursday.

The car driver, Nirmal Singh, was going from Zirakpur to Khamano on Wednesday morning when he allegedly hit 35-year-old Dhurinder Mandal on a bicycle from behind near the Airport Road around 6:30 am, Station House Officer of Sohana police station Bhagwant Singh said.

Nirmal Singh did not stop his vehicle after the accident and drove on, the police said, adding he realised that the victim had been flung onto the vehicle's roof when Mandal's arm hit a windowpane as the car took a turn near Sunny Enclave.

He proceeded to drop Mandal, who had died by then, at a secluded place near Kharar town in Mohali and fled, the police said.

Some people spotted the body and raised an alarm. The SHO said Nirmal Singh drove his car for around 10 km with Dhruinder Mandal on the roof.

The vehicle was spotted in CCTV footage, and Nirmal Singh was traced and arrested on Wednesday evening using the car's registration number, he said.

The accused was booked under relevant sections of the law, including 279 (rash driving), 304 A (causing death by negligence, not amounting to culpable homicide) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the IPC, the SHO added.