Bengaluru, Oct 30 (IANS) Bengaluru police have arrested a couple on charges of ramming their car into a bike and killing one of the riders in a road rage incident. The case was reported from the Puttenahalli police station limits in Bengaluru.

The deceased has been identified as 24-year-old Dharshan N, a gig worker. His friend, 24-year-old G. Varun, sustained serious injuries and is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital. The accused have been identified as Manoj Kumar, a Kalaripayattu martial arts instructor, and his wife Arti Sharma.

DCP (South) Lokesh Jagalasar said, “On October 25, in Srirama Layout near Puttenahalli, a car hit a bike carrying two youths. One of the riders died on the spot while the pillion rider was admitted to a hospital. Initially, J.P. Nagar Traffic Police registered a case of accidental death.”

“However, CCTV footage later revealed that the car driver had deliberately rammed into the bike from behind. Further investigation showed that the two bikers had earlier broken the mirror of the car before leaving the spot,” the DCP stated.

Enraged by this, the car driver reportedly took a U-turn, chased the bike, and intentionally rammed into it before fleeing the scene. Following these findings, a murder case was registered at the Puttenahalli police station.

After committing the crime, the car driver allegedly returned to the spot wearing a mask and collected broken car parts to conceal evidence. Both the accused husband and wife were later seen, their faces covered, retrieving parts of the car from the site. Police have also added charges of destroying evidence to the murder case, the DCP said.

The couple has been arrested and produced before the court. The deceased was a gig worker, while the accused husband worked as a physical arts teacher, police said.

The case has been registered under Sections 103(1), 109, 238, 324(5), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). The CCTV footage regarding the incident has gone viral on social media raising concerns. Police sources stated that the accused driver Manoj chased the bike for nearly 2 kilometres before ramming into the vehicle. The impact was such that both riders on the bike sprang into the air and fell down.

The accused couple had stated to police that the bike riders deliberately came in front of their car and broke the mirror and sped away and this had enraged them. The incident had taken place at 11.30 pm on October 25. Further investigation is on.

--IANS

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