BMW hit-and-run accused surrenders in court 24 days after the incident

The accused in the BMW hit-and-run case, Vinod Dedha, surrendered in the Gautam Budh Nagar district court on Tuesday afternoon, 24 days after the incident that had left one person dead and three others injured.

The incident took place on April 16, when Dedha’s car allegedly hit four persons near gate number 7 of Noida stadium around 11am, when he was said to be racing a friend.

Gulfam Ali, a 22-year-old air-conditioner mechanic who was injured in the accident, had succumbed in the hospital. Dedha had allegedly flashed a pistol to avoid being caught by the mob at the spot and fled with his friend, whom he was racing, the police said.

Also read: One dead in Noida BMW hit-and-run case, driver on the run

The Delhi resident, who owns a gym in Noida, had moved an application for surrender earlier this month on the basis of which he gave himself up to the authorities on Tuesday.

“On Tuesday, Dedha surrendered in the court of the district judge and is presently in judicial custody. We sought police custody of the accused to investigate the case, which the court deferred to May 17. In the next hearing, we will seek his custody again,” Neeraj Kumar Singh, in-charge of Sector 24 police station, said.

According to the police, they raided all possible hideouts to look for Dedha and a non-bailable warrant was also issued against him. However, he continued to dodge the investigators and had been on the run.

Also read: Noida court issues non bailable warrant against accused

“Witnesses said that Dedha was racing another car and had flashed a pistol while trying to flee the spot. He must have stayed with a friend or relative as his residence at Mayur Vihar Phase 1 in Delhi and gym at Sector 22 of Noida were locked,” Singh said.

The incident had led to a protest as friends and family of the deceased had blocked the Sector 12-22 road for more than an hour on April 17, demanding arrest of the accused and compensation for the family of the deceased. However, the police failed to arrest Dedha for 22 days.

Deceased Gulfam Ali’s family expressed displeasure over the process.

“We have not received a single penny from the government as compensation. Gulfam was the eldest in the family and was the sole bread winner. Police failed to arrest the accused becuase he is rich and famous. Had he been someone like us, he would have been arrested long ago,” Mahruf Ali, Gulfam’s cousin, said.

Gulfam had come from Moradabad to the city a couple of years ago to work as a mechanic. He was on his way to repair a client’s AC when Dedha allegedly hit his bike from behind.