NEW DELHI: A chilling CCTV footage has emerged showing a Kalaripayattu trainer and his wife deliberately mowing down a 24-year-old food delivery agent in a fit of rage — and returning to the crime scene later to collect broken car parts. Police have arrested Manoj Kumar (32), a martial arts trainer from Kerala, and his wife Aarati Sharma (30), from Jammu & Kashmir, in connection with the October 25 incident that killed Darshan, a resident of Kembattalli. The couple, married for five years, has been remanded to 14-day judicial custody. The CCTV footage, accessed by police from Nataraja Layout in South Bengaluru, has revealed the sequence of events that turned a minor brush on the road into a murder. Around 9pm, Darshan’s gearless scooter accidentally brushed against Kumar’s car, slightly damaging its right-side rear-view mirror. Though Darshan apologised and sped away — as he was on his way to deliver food — Kumar allegedly lost his temper. “Losing control of himself, he took a U-turn, chased the scooter, and rammed it from behind,” said a senior investigating officer. “The impact threw Darshan and his pillion rider Varun onto the road. The car didn’t stop.” Locals rushed the duo to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared Darshan brought dead. His sister later filed a hit-and-run case with JP Nagar traffic police.
Victim Darshan
But when investigators examined the CCTV footage, they were stunned. “To our horror, we discovered it was not an accident. The driver deliberately veered left and rammed into the scooter,” a senior officer said. Further footage showed the same car returning to the accident site around 9.40pm. “The couple, wearing masks, parked nearby and collected parts of their car that had broken off during the impact. As they left again, CCTV cameras captured their faces clearly,” the officer added. The footage helped police identify the car and trace the couple to their residence. Deputy commissioner of police (South) Lokesh Jagalasar confirmed the arrests, saying, “The accused have confessed to their involvement.” While Manoj claimed he was alone during the ramming and that Aarati had only accompanied him later to retrieve the car parts, police said they are verifying his version. Darshan, a bachelor, is survived by his parents and sister. His family is demanding strict action against the accused.
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