Former Union minister’s son arrested in Raipur hit-and-run, granted bail; ‘CCTV stopped working hour before incident’

Following the impact, Tribhuvan was thrown off the bike and dragged along by the car for a few metres, police said.

The 34-year-old son of former Union minister and sitting BJP MLA Renuka Singh was arrested on Tuesday evening in a hit-and-run case in Raipur after he allegedly rammed a car into a biker on Monday, leaving the latter in critical condition. He was later granted bail.

The accused, Balwant Singh alias Lucky, was allegedly driving his friend’s car in the early hours of Monday when the incident happened.

“Balwant was arrested on Tuesday evening. He confessed that he was driving the car when the accident took place. Balwant’s friend, who owns the car, has also confirmed that he gave his car to Balwant. As the sections [under which he was arrested] were bailable, he was granted bail from the police station after he signed a bond of Rs 50,000 along with a guarantor,” a police officer said.

“Once the final report on the victim’s health is received, appropriate sections will be added in the case. The victim remains in critical condition,” the officer said.

The officer also claimed that the CCTV cameras installed near the site of the accident had “stopped functioning due to a technical error at midnight”, an hour before the accident took place at 1 am.

The incident took place at Salasar Chowk on the Ring Road in Raipur city. Balwant Singh was allegedly driving his friend’s car, and three of his friends were in the car, officials said.

The victim, 34-year-old Tribhuvan Thakur, is a DJ and was returning home after working at an event. When he was taking a left turn, the car Balwant was allegedly driving rammed into him at a speed of around 80-100 kmph, police said.

An official from the Telibandha police station said, “The victim has suffered grievous injuries on his head, ribs, legs and back. He is in a critical condition.”

An FIR was registered against Balwant under BNS sections 125 (a) (endangering personal safety of others) and 281 (rash and negligent driving).