This Article is From Dec 28, 2009

Gurgaon hit-and-run: Police shielding Audi driver?

Gurgaon hit-and-run: Police shielding Audi driver?
New Delhi: A speeding Audi - out on a test drive - crashed into Avinash Shah's car on Friday afternoon, as he was taking his wife and daughter to a Christmas party.

His Hyundai i10 flipped thrice, killing the 47-year-old Merchant Navy engineer instantly. His wife is still critical. Their 14-year-old daughter, who escaped with minor injuries, is in a state of deep shock; she learnt of her father's death just before his last rites.

IT firm owner Sanjeev Mittal, who was allegedly driving the Audi, is out on bail.

Avinash's family accuses the police of laxity, to the extent of possibly shielding the accused.

"I'm not convinced that they needed 24 hours to find out who was driving the Audi, when its passengers were right there. They might be under pressure to delay things, maybe even reduce the sentence of the driver," says Avinash's Cousin Raj Aggarwal.

But the police say they did their best to gather maximum evidence against the accused. "Our priority is to save the injured first, deliver the dead to the mortuatry, and then worry about the accused," explains Rajiv Yadav, SHO at Gurgaon's Sadar Police Station.

Even as they mourn Avinash's death, the Shahs are determined that it does not end up as just another statistic.
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