NOIDA: A friend of two youths who died near Army Public School on December 30 has alleged that the incident was a case of road rage, not a hit-and-run. According to Pushpendra, the victims—Basant Khasu (23) and Rohan Mandal (27)—were chased by an SUV that rammed their motorcycle at high speed, flinging them into roadside railings and killing them on the spot.
Pushpendra said the chase followed an argument at a roadside eatery in Sector 30, where the two had stopped for parathas while returning from a party. “It was not an accident. The SUV hit their bike deliberately,” he claimed, adding that the vehicle, without a number plate, briefly stopped before making a U-turn and speeding away in dense fog.
Recounting the sequence, Pushpendra said the group had left for a birthday party around 10 pm from Nithari. Around 11.40 pm, Rohan mentioned the eatery altercation during a phone call, prompting Pushpendra to head towards the spot. Near Dent Star, he saw the motorcycle being chased by a black SUV. Moments later, near the school, he found the bike tangled in the grille and the SUV reversing and fleeing. Both youths were bleeding and motionless.
Basant, a third-year hotel management student, lived with his mother Sonam and brother Dheeraj; his father works as a chef in Kenya. Rohan was a contract worker with the fire department. Sonam corroborated the account, saying Basant had called for help after the argument. “Later, police initially told us it was an accident, but agreed it didn’t appear so when we questioned that,” she said, seeking justice.
Police said five teams have been formed to trace the SUV and CCTV footage is being examined, though the missing number plate has complicated the search. An FIR has been registered under BNS sections for rash driving and causing death by negligence. Rohan’s post-mortem indicates ante-mortem head injuries; Basant’s family declined an autopsy. Dheeraj alleged the assailants were the same people involved in the earlier altercation, calling it “a clear case of murder.”
