Sarpanch’s missing kin dies after being found injured on roadside

Gurugram: A newly-elected sarpanch’s brother-in-law, who was missing since November 14, was found injured along the National Highway (NH-48) near Panchgaon Chowk in Manesar on Friday night, police said on Sunday.

Police said that they got him admitted to a government hospital in Sector 10A, where he died during treatment.

Police said the deceased was initially unidentified but was later identified as Satish Kumar (45), a resident of Mokalwas village near Bilaspur. His elder brother Joginder Singh had submitted a missing person’s complaint at Manesar police station on November 15, which was registered on the same day under Section 346 (wrongful confinement in secret) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), police added.

Police said that Kumar was walking on the roadside on Friday night and was hit by a speeding truck. The driver abandoned the vehicle near a petrol pump in Bilaspur, some 10 kilometres away from the accident spot and fled.

Police said a person informed about Kumar lying injured on the roadside to the police control room in Panchkula. On the complaint of constable Harmesh Kumar, who reached the spot in an emergency response vehicle, a separate FIR against the truck driver was registered under Section 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 304A (causing death by negligence) at Manesar police station on Saturday evening, said police.

However, family members suspect foul play in Kumar’s death. They alleged that he was kidnapped as they won the panchayat elections and his death by accident is a cover up.

Singh alleged in the missing person’s complaint that his brother left home at about 8am on November 14 to drop his daughter at a polytechnic college in Manesar and did not return home.

Police said that Kumar’s body was handed over to his family members after an autopsy on Sunday.