Thar owners on crime spree? Youth in Jammu tries to murder elderly man

Jammu: In what appears to be a brazen murder attempt with a Mahindra Thar, police have booked a youth who deliberately ran over an elderly man following a collision in Jammu city. The incident, caught on CCTV, has sparked outrage online, with many questioning whether the Thar has become a symbol of impunity and crime on Indian roads.

A video of the incident shows the Thar driver reversing and targeting the elderly victim after an initial accident, leaving him grievously injured. This has intensified the debate about reckless Thar drivers and whether the SUV is being misused as a weapon for crime.

A scooty, being driven by an elderly man, rammed into the car near Allora Textiles at around 1:30 pm.

The CCTV footage showed that after the initial collision, the Thar driver reversed his vehicle and deliberately hit the victim again, causing grievous injuries.

The incident occurred on Sunday. "The injured person was taken to GMC Hospital Jammu by passers-by, while the Thar driver fled the scene," the police spokesperson said.

Police have registered an FIR under sections 281 (rash driving), section 109 (attempt to murder) and 125(a) (endangering human life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Gandhi Nagar police station, and seized the vehicle.

The driver is absconding, but the vehicle's owner has been detained. Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajay Sharma said the video of the incident surfaced on social media, with numerous accounts reporting it.

"The Thar was being driven by Manan Anand, son of Rajinder Anand of Nanak Nagar," the SP said.

The driver is currently at large and may have left Jammu. Efforts are underway to trace him, he said.