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Minister Vows Impartial Probe

As the probe into the Gurugram hit-and-run case intensified, Haryana Minister Gaurav Gautam on Tuesday asserted that the law will take its course without favour, stating that whoever is found guilty will be arrested, "even if the person is from my own family." The minister's remarks came after the family of the accused driver, identified as Kalyan Baisla from Palwal, met him amid extensive raids by local police and the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) in the area. "The police and the law are doing their job. If an incident of this nature has taken place, then naturally whoever is at fault will be apprehended. A few people had come to meet [me], but whoever is guilty will be caught. Even if the person is from my own family, they will still be caught," Gautam told ANI.

Collision Was Intentional, Says Women's Commission Chief

Stepping into the matter, Haryana State Commission for Women Chairperson Renu Bhatia backed the victim's family, stating that available video recordings and surveillance footage clearly indicate the collision was intentional rather than an accidental impact. "It is absolutely true that the allegations being made by the family are accurate to a large extent. As you know, CCTV cameras are installed everywhere and capture everything, making it clear whether someone was being stalked or if it was an accidental collision. But it clearly wasn’t just an accident, because we also saw the TV news clips and the viral videos," Bhatia told ANI.

Emphasising that the vehicle had already been identified, the Women's Commission chief demanded exemplary punishment for the accused. "From those clips, it appears that the boy was targeting her from behind and came and caused the crash there—even though he was signalled with a hand gesture to stop. Therefore, I say that since the vehicle number is clearly visible, identifying the person is straightforward. The strictest possible action must be taken against him—so severe that no one dares to attempt such acts in the future," Bhatia added.

Accused's Family, Neighbours Claim It Was an Accident

Meanwhile, police have reached the accused's village, with his immediate family fleeing their residence out of apprehension. However, neighbours and relatives came forward to defend Baisla, claiming the collision was accidental and that he drove away only to evade potential mob violence.

Speaking to ANI, a neighbour described Baisla as a national and international-level kabaddi player who operates a local gymnasium, claiming the family had no prior criminal record. "He is a kabaddi player—a national player, an international player. He isn't just any small-time player. He runs a good gym, he is a decent boy. He has no bad reputation whatsoever. Forget just Kalyan; no one in his entire family has any bad reputation. There is no bad record or anything against them. To my knowledge, not even an FIR has ever been lodged in their name, not even over any petty village dispute. They have never fought with anyone. Now, regarding the incident that took place there—there were 10 to 20 bikers around. In such a situation, anyone would flee to save their life. They would have beaten him to death right there. What could the police have done once he was beaten?" the neighbour questioned.

"Why would he deliberately hit and run? He was trying to steer clear. There were bikers on the road, cars coming from both directions. Did he have any personal enmity with that girl? Did he know her from before? Why would he intentionally hit and flee? It was an accident while trying to navigate the road. We demand justice from the government. There must be a fair and impartial investigation… Such a huge issue has been made out of this. People die on the road every day. This was just an accident. People die on roads; people get into accidents when they drive. But why have they created such a storm that the police are raiding, and news channels are showing up? Other accidents happen too, but we’ve never seen the media or the CIA (Crime Investigation Agency) showing up like this. They’ve turned this into a complete storm," the neighbour added.

A relative, identified as Kiran, claimed that Baisla was travelling with women and minor children in the vehicle, which caused him to panic and avoid stopping at the spot. "He didn’t do anything wrong. Children were inside the car, his sister was in the car, even a little grandson was there. He just tried to avoid... so many people die on roads every day; did he do something unheard of? They made such a massive issue out of it. He did not hit her intentionally. There was a car in front and one behind. The girl was riding separately at high speed. He swerved slightly to avoid her, and there was a minor brush against the handlebar. The girl fell, and the car moved ahead because it was already at speed," Kiran told ANI.

She further added, "He didn't stop out of fear of being attacked. Children were with him in the car. Had he been alone, he wouldn't have fled. The family has fled out of fear. They have never seen police in their entire lives… This matter should simply be settled. What did he even do? Did a murder happen? Murders happen across the world, and nothing happens.”

The Incident and FIR

The incident took place on Gurugram's Golf Course Road on Sunday morning when Sia was riding with fellow bikers. She was injured after Baisla, who was driving a four-wheeler, allegedly rammed into her bike in an incident being treated by police as a suspected hit-and-run case.

The FIR was registered at Sector-56 Police Station in Gurugram after the police's Social Media Monitoring Cell intercepted the video circulating on social media on September 14. (ANI)