A 50-year-old homeless woman died after being hit by a Jeep Compass SUV driven by a fashion designing student in Delhi late on Sunday. She was dragged for almost 300 metres, the police said.
The driver, Shreya Agarwal (20) from Bareilly, was on a joyride with two friends when the victim, identified as Phoolwati, was crossing the road opposite PVR Rivoli.
The eyewitnesses said that the incident occurred at around 8:30 pm. They said the car was at high speed when it struck the beggar. She then took a left from Baba Kharak Singh Marg towards Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg and drove off at high speed. She tried to flee from the spot by driving on a wrong side but was stopped by the police pickets ahead.
The victim was stuck under the rear wheels of the SUV, said the police. She was rushed to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where the doctors pronounced her brought dead. Phoolwati had sustained injuries to her head and neck.
Phoolwati lived in a night shelter near Bangla Sahib Gurdwara and is survived by her 18-year-old son and a daughter. Her body was handed over to her family after post-mortem.
Shreya was arrested and later released on bail, police said. "She is pursuing fashion designing from National Institute of Fashion Technology in Mumbai and had come to meet two friends in Delhi on Sunday afternoon," a police officer said.
"She went to Greater Kailash with her driver but asked him to wait there and left for dinner with her friends. She was supposed to take a flight from IGI Airport on Sunday night. The plan was that her friends would drive the car back and hand it over to the driver," the officer added.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma, the accused was not drunk at the time of the incident. "We have registered a case under sections 279 and 304-A of IPC with Connaught Place police station," he added.
