A young man riding to work was killed early on June 25 when a speeding Mahindra Thar allegedly slammed into his motorcycle from behind near the Rajokri flyover in south Delhi, and then drove off without stopping. The victim has been identified as Sarthak Mattoo, 34, a resident of Gurugram who worked with an event management firm.
According to his family, Mattoo had left home at around 6:30 in the morning, helmet on, for the ride from Gurugram to Noida for office work. Somewhere along the route near the flyover, the SUV — said to carry a Karnataka registration and two occupants — is alleged to have rammed his bike, run over him, and sped away, leaving him grievously injured on the road.
A passer-by who saw the aftermath reportedly picked up Mattoo's phone, spotted that the last call had been to his workplace, and rang the number — which is how a colleague, and then the family, came to learn of the crash. He was rushed to the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre by a police control room vehicle, but doctors declared him dead.
How police traced the SUV
Police said a PCR call about a car hitting a motorcyclist came in to the Vasant Kunj South police station on June 25, and an FIR was registered the same day. A post-mortem was carried out at Safdarjung Hospital before the body was handed to the family.
Investigators say they tracked down the Thar, which is registered to a Bengaluru-based private company and had been leased to a 29-year-old employee, Sagar Saha, originally from Bihar and posted in Bengaluru. During questioning, Saha allegedly told police that the vehicle was being driven at the time by his friend Apurv Singh, 30 — a native of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh now living in Gurugram — while Saha sat in the front passenger seat.
The SUV has been seized, and the accused driver has been apprehended and taken for a medical examination, police said. The investigation is continuing.
The case at a glance
- VictimSarthak Mattoo, 34, of Gurugram; worked in event management
- WhenEarly morning, June 25, 2026, on the ride from Gurugram to Noida
- WhereNear the Rajokri flyover, Vasant Kunj area, south Delhi
- VehicleMahindra Thar, Karnataka registration, leased from a Bengaluru company
- StatusSUV seized; accused driver apprehended; FIR at Vasant Kunj South
A father's appeal
Mattoo's father, Surender Mattoo, made an emotional public appeal for justice, addressing it to senior government and police authorities, including the Union Home Minister and the Prime Minister. Holding up his son's battered helmet, he pointed to how sturdy it was and the scratches it bore, saying his son had been riding carefully and protected.
His sharpest anguish was reserved for the fact that the occupants drove away instead of helping. The grieving father said that rather than leaving his son on the road, the very least they could have done was take him to a hospital. He also questioned aspects of the police response, alleging a significant delay before the family was asked to complete certain post-incident formalities.
The family says he was an only son — and that the people in the SUV chose to flee rather than stop and help. — As recounted by the victim's father