Gurgaon: An alleged road-rage episode on Southern Peripheral Road last month resulted in a 22-year-old man getting fractures in both hips and injuries to his abdomen and leg, leaving him confined to his bed for two weeks so far.Umesh, a milkman from Makdola, was able to give a statement to the cops only on Thursday. He said he suspected the incident may have been a setup.Umesh said Hemant (26), whom he had developed a friendship with only a week prior, came to his house on Sept 18 and asked him to accompany him for some work. Later in the evening, Hemant called three friends and the group headed towards Badshahpur via Dwarka Expressway.While the trio was in a Thar, Umesh was in Hemant’s Bolero Pik-Up. When they reached Southern Peripheral Road, Hemant stopped his vehicle near a petrol pump. As they resumed their journey, a canter truck allegedly overtook them at high speed around 11.15pm.Hemant immediately gave chase, despite Umesh’s protests, and eventually crossed the canter truck. “When the canter driver tried to move his vehicle around the pickup, Hemant moved in the same direction, preventing the truck from getting past. Both vehicles eventually stopped. Hemant got out and began talking to the canter driver, who remained seated,” the statement read.After a while, Umesh got out of the Bolero. The canter driver suddenly reversed and accelerated forward, hitting him as well as Hemant’s car before speeding away. “I got sandwiched between both vehicles,” Umesh told TOI.Hemant’s friends soon drove up to the scene of the accident. Umesh said he lay on the road for about 30 minutes while the group talked among themselves. He heard one of them suggest leaving him there.Umesh immediately called a village acquaintance and told him he had met with an accident, was badly hurt, and that Hemant was with him.According to Umesh, Hemant then took away his phone and told him not to call anyone, saying they would take him to a doctor.The group first went to SGT Medical College Hospital. Doctors there advised that Umesh be admitted elsewhere because of the severity of his injuries. He was then taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre in Delhi, where he remained for four days.Umesh told police he has been continuing to get treatment there and been advised bed rest for at least six months.He said he could not be sure that the whole situation wasn’t a trap. “Our family has an old dispute with Hemant’s family, who live nearby. He didn’t get hurt at all,” Umesh told TOI, adding, “There were CCTV cameras at the spot. I hope police will nab the truck driver to ascertain if it was an accident or a plot to kill me.”A case has been registered against Hemant and the unknown truck driver at Rajendra Park police station under BNS sections related to rash driving or riding on a public way and voluntarily causing hurt by a rash or negligent act.
