2008 BMW Hit-and-run Case: Victim Refuses Rs 2 Lakh Compensation

New Delhi: A man injured in the 2008 BMW hit-and-run case involving a Haryana industrialist's son, Utsav Bhasin, on Thursday refused to accept a cheque of Rs two lakh offered to him as compensation, before the Delhi High Court.

The trial court had on July 15 sent convict Bhasin to two years in jail for mowing down a motorcyclist, Anuj Singh, with his over-speeding BMW car in 2008. The pillion rider, journalist Mrigank Srivastava, was injured in the accident.

However, the trial court had granted Bhasin bail to enable him to file an appeal in the high court while asking him to furnish a bail bond of Rs 50,000 with a surety of like amount.

During the hearing, on Thursday, the counsel for Srivastava told Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal that they need to think over it before accepting the amount as directed by the trial court.

The court has extended the bail of Bhasin till October 30 on the same terms and conditions as imposed by the trial court.

The counsel for Bhasin told the judge that an enhanced compensation of Rs 35 lakh was paid to the deceased victim's parents, who did not wish to take the matter further.

The judge, however, said no such submission was given or put on record in the court.

"The settlement was out of court. The court was not in the picture. When the file came up before me, the compensation was to be paid," the court said and asked Bhasin's counsel, "if any such statement was given by the deceased's parents, why don't you file an affidavit in this regard."

The convict's counsel then submitted that the court could take the statement provided by the victim's family on record.

The court declined it, saying "Let the parents come to court or you file an affidavit" and listed the matter for hearing on October 30.

The trial court had directed the convict to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the Singh's kin and Rs 2 lakh to Srivastava.

It had convicted Bhasin for causing death by negligence but dropped the charge of 304(II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) under the IPC.

Bhasin was driving his BMW car when he had hit the two- wheeler on Moolchand flyover in South Delhi, killing Singh on September 11, 2008. Srivastava, a TV journalist, was injured in the accident.