- विज्ञापन -
Amritsar, July 18: In Surrey city of British Columbia, Canada, the court has sentenced two young men of Punjab origin to three years of imprisonment each. The court held both of them guilty of hitting a person with a car and intentionally dragging him for 1.3 km and then throwing his body on the road and running away. Along with this, both of them have also been banned from driving for three years.
The accident took place on 27 January 2024. According to the facts presented in the court, 22-year-old Gaganpreet Singh and Jagdeep Singh were roaming the streets of Surrey late at night in a red Ford Mustang car with a third friend. They had left a nearby pizza shop. At that time Gaganpreet was driving the car while the car belonged to Jagdeep and he was sitting in the front seat.
At the same time, two witnesses called the police to report a man lying on the road on University Drive. Around 1:41 am, they called 911. At the same time, Gaganpreet, who was driving the car, hit the man. The conversation during the 911 call was played in court in which it can be heard – Oh my God, someone hit him. Where did he go? He is stuck under the car.
The body was dragged for 1.3 km
After the collision, both the accused stop the car for a while and get down and look under the car. At that moment, the witnesses’ car and another car belonging to their friends arrive there. A witness tells Gaganpreet during the 911 call – There is a man under your car. But despite this, Gaganpreet starts the car and speeds away from there. The man was still trapped under the car. During investigation, it was found that the two accused dragged the car with the dead body for 1.3 km.
Trying to remove the body
The surveillance video showed that Gaganpreet tried to remove the body of the person by repeatedly moving the car forward and backward after going some distance. But when the body did not come out, they reached a deserted street. Where Gaganpreet and Jagdeep together forcibly brought the body down from the car. The video presented in the court clearly showed that Jagdeep was reversing the car and Gaganpreet was pulling the body. Later they fled from there leaving the body on the roadside.
Know who was the victim
The man who died in the accident was identified in court as J.G., a 47-year-old man. He leaves behind a child and wife. In court, Crown lawyer Adam Jantunen said the victims were much loved by their family, friends and the community.
While pronouncing the sentence, Judge Mark Jett said that the saddest thing in this case was that despite knowing that someone was stuck under their car, the accused youth kept dragging him and finally fled after throwing the body. The judge called it complete insensitivity and said that if it had been just a road accident, then it would not have been a criminal case, but the actions after the accident made this case serious.
Defence argument
Gaganpreet’s lawyer Gagan Nahal told the court that his client had immediately admitted his mistake and pleaded guilty from the beginning. He said that both the youths had no criminal or traffic history, and were extremely remorseful after the incident. They were scared and did not know what to do. So they kept driving.
The judge considered his age, no previous record and his admission of guilt as factors for leniency in the sentence, but also made it clear that such negligence could not be tolerated.
