Over the past decade, there has been a steep increase in hit-and-run cases in India. Data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways outlined that over 67,000 hit-and-run incidents took place in 2022, killing about 30,400 people, the highest in last 10 years. This is in contrast to around 49,500 hit-and-run cases reported in 2013, when less than 20,000 people lost their lives.
The number of hit-and-run cases had seen a dip in the Covid years of 2020 and 2021, but started to go up soon after the restrictions were lifted.
While the numbers for the year 2024 are not available yet, a few very serious incidents took place this year that made headlines.
Hit-And-Run Cases That Shook India In 2024
1. On May 19, a 17-year-old boy was accused of killing two motorcycle-borne IT professionals, Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, in Pune after he hit the motorcycle while driving high-end-car Porsche in inebriated state.The boy’s father’s political affluence helped him to delay the test of alcohol content in his blood, and later he secured bail from Juvenile Justice Board within hours on lenient terms, including to write a 300-word essay on road safety. The boy’s family has been accused of swapping the blood sample, tampering with the evidence and abducting the driver who were present at the time of accident. There was a nation-wide outrage on this hit-and-run case, where the outreach of a rich and politically influential boy’s family which allegedly delayed the course of justice.
2. On July 7, 24-year-old Mihir Sen, son of Rajesh Shah, Shiv Sena leader (Eknath Shinde camp), killed a woman and injured her husband after his luxury BMW car rammed into her scooter in Worli. The scooter dragged the woman for nearly 1.5 kms and subsequently, the woman lost her life. As per the police, Mihir was under the influence of alcohol. Mihir reportedly shaved his beard to evade the arrest, however, he was arrested from Virar, two days after the incident.
3. On July 20, another BMW hit from behind the two-wheeler of a 28-year-old man in Mumbai’s Worli, resulting in the latter’s death. The victim, Vinod Lad, died during the treatment on July 27. The accused in the case, Kiran Indulkar, initially fled the scene, and was later arrested.
4. In an attempt to learn driving, 43-year-old Subhash Pannalal Shukla, who was driving Innova on a busy road in Navi Mumbai on July 27, crashed into an auto-rickshaw killing the auto driver Munnalal Prasad Gupta. Later, Shukla, along with his relative Prasad Tiwari, whom the former switched the seat to drive the vehicle, were arrested. According to the police, the accused stepped on the accelerator instead of applying the brakes.
5. On November 2, 20-year-old boy Dhanush, driving a Mercedes under the influence of alcohol, hit 30-year-old Sandhaya while she was crossing the road in Bangalore’s Kengri. The accused, who tried to flee the scene, was caught by the bystander, allegedly thrashed and then arrested by the police.
6. Again on November 2, another incident of hit-and-run happened in Bangalore where Majunath N (food delivery boy, who was on his way to pick-up his wife from KG Nagar), was hit by a speeding car at MV Seetharamaiah Road in Gavipura, and later passed away in the hospital.
7. On December 5, a 25-year-old homemaker, identified as Bhanupriya, died after a car hit her Nelamangala-Doddaballapur Road, Bangalore, while she was walking back home with her two-year-old son. Her son has suffered head injuries.
8. A cycle rider, identified as Rajesh, died on the spot when a speeding Mercedes hit him from behind on August 17 in Delhi’s Ashram area. Later, the accused Pradeep Gautam surrendered at the police station and was then arrested .
9. On February 25, a woman identified as Ritika Maloo, while driving a speeding Mercedes under the influence of alcohol, killed two men on a two-wheeler after her car collided with the side wall of Ram Jhula bridge in Nagpur and later crashed into the two-wheeler. The victims were identified as Mohd Hussain Mustafa and Mohd Ateef Ziya.
10. Delhi police constable Sandeep, who was in plain dress to investigate the reasons of a robbery in his area, died after he was hit by a speeding car on September 29 in Delhi’s Nangloi area. The car dragged Sandeep’s and his two-wheeler for metres leading to his death. Delhi police later arrested an accused, named Rajesh alias Sittu, from Noida.
11. On March 25, a woman named Mohini was killed when a speeding SUV hit her scooty from behind and dragged it for several metres in Delhi’s Paschim Vihar area. Her son Jagmeet Singh, who was driving the scooty, received injuries.
12. Two women, identified as Lakshmi Tomar and Disha Jadon, were killed when a BMW car struck their scooter in Indore on September 15. The accused driver Gajendra Prasad Singh, who was in a hurry to deliver cake for his friend’s birthday party, drove his vehicle in the wrong direction, hit the scooter and then fled the scene. Later, he was arrested by the police.
13. Ghaziabad police have recently arrested the driver of a car that killed three pedestrians and injured one on the night of December 10 near Crossings Republik Township in Ghaziabad. The suspect Kartik Tyagi (25), along with his friends were headed to a wedding in Pandav Nagar with his speeding car.
