Daijiworld Media Network - Gurugram

Gurugram, Sep 15: Kalyan Bainsla, the car driver accused of ramming into a woman sports bike rider on Golf Course Road, was arrested from Rajgarh in Rajasthan on Tuesday, Gurugram Police Commissioner Sibash Kabiraj said.

The arrest came after Gurugram Police added a charge of attempt to murder under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to the case. The provision carries imprisonment of up to 10 years. Police had earlier registered a case under Sections 281 and 125 of the BNS for rash driving and causing hurt.

The case was registered suo motu by Gurugram Police at the Sector 56 police station after a video of the incident surfaced on social media. Police had identified Bainsla as the driver of the white sedan involved in the collision and launched a search for him. According to reports, the attempt-to-murder charge was added after police examined CCTV footage and other material related to the incident.

The incident occurred on Sunday morning on Golf Course Road when Sia, identified on social media as Shivani Chauhan and known by the Instagram handle ‘rebelwheels_sia_’, was riding an Aprilia RS 457 with a group of fellow bikers.

According to Sia, the car came dangerously close to her motorcycle and its occupants behaved aggressively, repeatedly gesturing for her to stop. She said she asked the driver to maintain a safe distance but alleged that the vehicle continued following her before hitting her bike.

Footage recorded by cameras mounted on Sia's motorcycle and those of other riders shows the car coming into contact with her motorcycle. The impact threw her off the bike, while the motorcycle skidded several metres along the road. The video subsequently went viral on social media and triggered widespread concern over road safety and the conduct of the driver.

Sia alleged that the incident was deliberate and that she was targeted because she was a woman riding alone among a group of bikers. She questioned why the driver did not stop after the collision to check whether she was safe if the incident was genuinely an accident.

“I asked him to drive while maintaining distance. He kept making hand gestures asking me to stop my bike,” she said in a video shared online.

She also alleged that the occupants of the car appeared to be intoxicated. Her account, however, forms part of the allegations being investigated by police.

Bainsla has denied deliberately hitting Sia and has described the collision as an accident. In his account, he said around 20 to 22 bikers had sped past his car and that he did not realise a woman was riding the motorcycle.

Bainsla claimed he had asked Sia and a male rider accompanying her to slow down. He said Sia was turning near a U-turn without checking her mirrors and that he lost control of the car, resulting in the collision.

“It was my fault; I admit it,” Bainsla said, while denying that he intentionally hit her. He also said he fled the spot because he feared that the group of bikers would assault him and his family if he stopped there.

Sia has rejected Bainsla's version of events, saying the available videos clearly show what happened. She questioned his claim that he was distressed by the accident and asked why he did not stop immediately after the collision to help her.

Bainsla is a gym owner and gym trainer and has described himself on social media as an international kabaddi player and a member of the Indian rugby team. Reports have also said he claimed to have won a bodybuilding competition, although some of these claims could not be independently verified. His Instagram account has since been deactivated.

The car involved in the incident was reported to be a Maruti Suzuki Ciaz belonging to an Army personnel, according to reports. Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances leading to the collision, including the events immediately before and after the impact.

Bainsla's arrest marks a significant development in the case, which attracted widespread attention after the videos of the collision were circulated online. With the attempt-to-murder charge now added, police are expected to investigate whether the collision was deliberate or resulted from reckless driving, while the competing claims of the biker and the accused will form part of the investigation.