A court in Haryana’s Gurugram on Wednesday granted the police two days’ custody of Kalyan Bainsla and his aide Lavnessh Gurjar, who had been arrested in connection with a crash involving a female bike rider Sia at the Golf Course Road in the city.

Police had sought custody of Bainsla, informing the court that the cops needed to interrogate him and recreate the crime scene to piece together the sequence of events. The police added that they also needed to ascertain who else was present inside the car when the incident transpired.

Both the accused were produced before the court with their faces covered.

Defence challenges attempt-to-murder charge invoked against accused

During the hearing, the defence opposed police custody and questioned the attempt-to-murder charge registered in the case. It contended that the case under Section 109 had been registered amid what it called a ‘media trial’ surrounding the incident. It further submitted before the court that an attempt-to-murder charge requires a motive and claimed that no such motive had been established in the case.

Furthermore, the defence also raised questions about the initial identification of the biker, pointing out that the riders involved were wearing helmets and clothing that allegedly made it difficult to determine whether the person was a man or a woman.

The court, however, granted Gurugram Police two days’ custody of the accused.

Sia says arrests are the ‘first phase’

The case has attracted widespread attention after Sia was allegedly struck by a car while riding a sports bike on the Golf Course Road in Gurugram. Almost a day after the incident, the police arrested the car driver and his aide, and invoked an attempt-to-murder charge against them.

Speaking about the accused being produced in court, Sia said she learnt about the arrests by means of media reports.

She remarked, “Today is the accused’s court appearance, and through media sources, I got to know that two people have been arrested. Look, this is just the first phase of the action, and this had to happen. Let’s see what the end result of today’s court appearance turns out to be.”

She went on to say that she had immense faith in the judicial process and hoped to receive justice. She also called for punishment for those found responsible, saying that failure to act would send a ‘very bad message’ to the society.

Family seeks custody of other suspects

Sia’s father Roshan Chauhan said the family wanted the accused to be sent to judicial custody. He thereafter urged the police to arrest the other people allegedly present inside the car.

Chauhan said, “Our only prayer is that they be sent to judicial custody. We appeal to the police to take the remaining two people into custody as well.”

He further argued that if four people were travelling in the car and that one person allegedly carried out the act, the others should have intervened. Sia’s brother also voiced demands for the strictest possible punishment for those accused in the case. He added that the family did not want a situation in which the accused were arrested and were then released within a week.

He also underscored that any punishment should set an example and deter people from believing they can escape consequences after a hit-and-run incident.