Gurgaon father demands justice after son killed in Vasant Kunj Thar hit and run
A Gurgaon resident has released a video appeal demanding justice for his 34-year-old son, Sarthak Mattoo, who was killed in a hit-and-run collision near the Rajokri flyover in Vasant Kunj, South Delhi, on June 25. Surender Mattoo recorded the message from his Gurgaon home, questioning the pace of the Delhi Police investigation after the driver of the Mahindra Thar that struck his son was arrested and subsequently released on bail.
The incident occurred at 6:30 am on June 25 when Sarthak was returning home on his motorcycle. According to the First Information Report (FIR), a Mahindra Thar hit Sarthak's motorcycle from behind, causing the vehicle to fall off the flyover. Sarthak, the only son of a Kashmiri Pandit family, died from the impact.
Following the incident, investigators traced the Mahindra Thar to a Bengaluru-based private company, which had leased the vehicle to an employee named Sagar Saha. During questioning, Saha, a 29-year-old resident of Bihar, told police that his friend, Apurv Singh, was driving the SUV at the time of the crash while Saha was in the passenger seat.
Apurv Singh, a 30-year-old resident of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on June 27 and subsequently released on bail. A senior police officer stated that the culprit was nabbed and the vehicle was seized within a day, adding that the case was registered according to the law and the court granted bail.
In his video appeal, Surender Mattoo expressed deep grief and frustration over the legal proceedings. He addressed his appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, calling for the immediate arrest of those responsible.
"They left my son on the roadside to die," Surender Mattoo said in the video. He highlighted his family's history of trauma as Kashmiri Pandits who had previously lost their parents and home to violence. "And now our only son has been killed. Why has the police not arrested those responsible?"
The grieving father also raised concerns regarding the forensic investigation, specifically questioning the delay in testing for alcohol. He asked how investigators could expect to find alcohol content in blood samples taken 50 hours after the accident.
"I am ready to do anything for justice," Mattoo said, describing his family as law-abiding citizens and taxpayers.
