SOON AFTER he was arrested on Tuesday, gym owner and former kabaddi player Kalyan Bainsla, 33, accused of hitting a woman biker with his car in Gurgaon, allegedly dashed away to escape, said police. He, however, sustained injuries during the escape bid, officers added. Bainsla, who was arrested along with his cousin accompanying him at the time of incident, has been booked in an attempt to murder case while other charges have also been added.
The police took suo motu cognizance of the case after the purported videos of the Golf Course Road hit-and-run incident were widely shared, showing a 27-year-old woman biker, Shivani Chauhan, getting rammed by a speeding car. She had also uploaded a video on social media, where she described the incident, saying that she feared for her safety.
As the dashcam and helmet footage of the incident went viral, according to police, Bainsla gave interviews to television channels to present his version, allegedly switched off his mobile phone, and fled to evade arrest. Three special teams were constituted to trace him.
A team from the Crime Branch Sohna tracked him down and apprehended him on Tuesday near Rajgarh in Rajasthan. However, during the custody transit, Bainsla, who hails from Chandhat in Haryana's Palwal, tried to escape. Along with him, police also arrested his cousin, Lovenish Gurjar (34), resident of New Colony in Palwal, who was accompanying him at time of incident.
"After being apprehended, the accused attempted to escape from police custody on the pretext of urinating, during which he sustained some injuries after falling. He was provided primary treatment at a hospital," a Gurugram Police spokesperson said.
Police also seized the white Maruti Suzuki Ciaz used that Bainsla was allegedly driving, which is registered in the name of an associate, an Army personnel currently posted in Assam. Bainsla had borrowed the vehicle two days prior to the incident.
While Gurugram Police had initially registered an FIR on Monday for rash driving under basic sections, in-depth probe and forensic CCTV analysis prompted investigators to significantly escalate the charges. Police added BNS Section 109 for attempt to murder. Based on woman's detailed statement regarding harassment on the road, Sections 78 (stalking) and 79 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the BNS were also invoked.
TWO DAYS after she was allegedly chased and rammed by a speeding car in Gurgaon when she was driving a superbike, Shivani Chauhan, 27, said on Tuesday that she was still coping with the trauma.
Earlier in the day, Shivani recorded her statement before a judicial magistrate under Section 183 of BNSS as police arrested two of the four men who were in the car at the time of the incident — driver Kalyan Bainsla and his cousin.
Speaking with The Indian Express, Shivani said, "I am still very traumatised. At night, the incident keeps playing in my mind, and does not let me rest. I will take a break from biking for now. The roads will still stay as unsafe for women as they were on Sunday. I will now think 10-12 times before leaving for biking, especially on my own."
She added, "My main aim is to speed up the process of justice in such cases... and to see to it that the police and courts punish the guilty."
Recalling the incident, she said, "All men in the car kept making obscene gestures, making fun of my plight after I fell off my vehicle due to the impact of the collision. It is important for me to act so that a message can be sent. Why didn't they make him (prime accused) stop the car, everyone had the same mindset. No one looked back... to see if I was hurt or even alive for that matter."
Shivani was accompanied by other bikers of a group. She has been pursuing the hobby for nearly a year. "This was not my first time on the Gurgaon route. Even in Cyber City, I have experienced road rage. This incident could have been much more dangerous. So I have to fight for other women riders. I will focus on cooperating with the authorities for now."
This was never just rash driving. The shift from a bailable traffic offence to attempt to murder, stalking and outraging modesty shows what viral video and a survivor's 183 BNSS statement can do. Gurgaon's Golf Course Road is a symbol of new India — superbikes and SUVs sharing tarmac, but with old mindsets. "Will think 10 times before hitting road again on a bike," Shivani says — that is the chilling cost. That the accused runs a gym, borrows an Army man's car, and then tries to flee during a loo break is straight out of a crime script, but for women bikers in NCR, it is a warning that road rage now has a gendered edge.