Kanpur man killed as Thar rams his scooter and drags him along for 20 metres; driver flees

A 61-year-old LIC housing finance agent was killed after a speeding Thar rammed his scooter and dragged him for nearly 20 metres before crashing into the boundary wall of a house in Kanpur on Saturday night.

The victim, Santosh Singh Chauhan, a resident of Swaraj Nagar in Panki, was returning home on his scooter after shopping in Keshavpuram. The accident took place around 8 pm near Gayatri Palace in Awas Vikas-3, Kalyanpur.

The SUV driver and another accompanying her allegedly fled the spot in a car they had called.

Vinod Kumar, a lawyer who witnessed the accident while riding home with his wife on a motorcycle, said the Thar approached from behind at around 100 kmph.

He swerved to avoid being hit.

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‘Dragged for nearly 20 metres’

The SUV rammed Santosh's scooter, throwing him into the air. He fell under the vehicle and was dragged for nearly 20 metres, Kumar said. The Thar then broke through the boundary wall of a garden outside Prof Kailash Chandra's house before crashing into the wall of an adjoining property owned by GST superintendent Anita Mahadevan. The scooter was mangled beyond recognition.

Eyewitnesses alleged that the two women in the Thar appeared to be drunk. The occupants of the car that arrived to pick them up allegedly threatened people gathered there, claiming to be relatives of a minister.

The Thar, which had “Krishna Group” written on its rear, is registered in the name of Krishna Kumar, a resident of Gyan Villa in Panki. Police seized the vehicle and sent Santosh's body for a post-mortem examination.

DCP West Qasim Abidi said the vehicle had been seized and further action was underway.

Santosh is survived by his wife, Sunita, son Rahul, an engineer, and daughter Sakshi, who works with a multinational company in Bengaluru. Rahul said his father had gone out on Saturday evening to buy a saree for his mother and was returning home when the accident occurred.