A 24-year-old software engineer from New Delhi, Arnav Pawankumar Singhal, was arrested on Tuesday after crashing a rented compact SUV into a police barricade near Naidu Hospital on Raja Bahadur Mills Road, Pune, and seriously injuring a woman police havaldar in the early hours of Monday. Singhal, a BTech graduate from Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, had arrived in Pune three days prior to attend a friend’s birthday party.
The incident occurred around 1:30 AM on Monday, when Singhal, returning from a party in Koregaon Park, ignored a police checkpoint signal to stop and instead accelerated. He crashed into the divider and dragged police havaldar Deepmala Nair for about 25 meters, causing a pelvic fracture and spine injury. Nair is currently receiving treatment at a private hospital.
Singhal confessed during questioning that he fled the checkpoint out of fear the police would take action against him. He had rented the SUV from a self-drive car rental service and was driving with three friends when the crash occurred. The police used digital payment records and vehicle tracking to trace Singhal’s movements, leading to his arrest in Bhairatwadi, Janwadi.
Singhal has been charged with attempting culpable homicide not amounting to murder, under Section 110 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. He has been remanded in police custody until December 13.
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