In a case that highlights callous negligence, the Baner police in Pune have finally arrested an autorickshaw driver, five months after he fatally hit a retired senior citizen and then abandoned him in a secluded area. The accused, identified as 23-year-old Israel Gurjar, was apprehended from Garh Mukteshwar near Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.
The Fateful Day and a Deceptive Act
The tragic incident occurred on July 20. Gopal Wagh, a 63-year-old retired law firm staffer, had just withdrawn cash from an ATM near Balewadi Phata. While crossing the road to return home, merely 500 meters from a hospital, he was struck by an autorickshaw. As bystanders gathered, the driver, Israel Gurjar, pretended to take the injured man for medical help. Instead of going to the nearby hospital, he drove Wagh to Range Hills and abandoned him in a secluded spot.
Wagh's concerned sons, unable to locate him, filed a missing person complaint at the Baner police station that same night. The police discovered him lying motionless the following day. He was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead. The sequence of events has left the family and authorities questioning the inaction of the crowd that was present at the accident site.
A Five-Month Manhunt Across States
Senior inspector Chandrashekhar Sawant of Baner police detailed the challenging investigation. The police tracked the autorickshaw to a parking spot in Sangvi and traced its owner. The owner provided Gurjar's name and cellphone number, but by then, the driver had fled to his native place in Uttar Pradesh. Police teams made frequent visits to various locations in UP and Delhi but initially failed to track him down.
Gurjar had been meticulously evading capture. After fleeing Pune, he changed his cellphone number repeatedly and began working as a carpenter, moving between different locations. He usually kept his phone switched off. His downfall came when he made a critical mistake: he called his father. Since his father's phone was under police surveillance, the call revealed Gurjar's location in Delhi. He later shifted to Garh Mukteshwar, where the police finally arrested him. He was brought back to Pune on Saturday after securing transit remand.
Legal Actions and a Family's Anguish
The police have registered an FIR against Gurjar under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act. The authorities have also decided to take legal action against the autorickshaw owner for leasing his vehicle to the accused.
The family of Gopal Wagh is devastated and haunted by the 'what-ifs'. His son, Amit Wagh (35), a software engineer, revealed that his father was registered at Jupiter Hospital, just 600 meters from the accident site, for emergencies. "It was all for nothing," Amit said. He expressed deep distress over why no one from the crowd accompanied his injured father. "I don't understand why nobody went with him in the autorickshaw. Was it fear, lack of time, or just not wanting to be bothered? He might have survived. What has happened to humanity?" he lamented. The case underscores a severe lapse in both humanity and road safety, leading to an avoidable loss of life.
