‘Son left on road to die’: Father of Delhi Thar hit-and-run victim makes video appeal

3 min readNew DelhiJul 1, 2026 06:11 PM IST

Sarthak Mattoo (right) was killed in a case of hit-and-run on June 25. His parents (left) made a video appeal from their home in Gurgaon on Wednesday (screengrab from video).

“They left my son on the roadside to die,” said Surender Mattoo.

His only son, 34-year-old Sarthak, was killed in a hit-and-run on the morning of June 25 in South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj.

In a video message recorded at his Gurgaon home and shared with the media, the distraught father said his family — they are Kashmiri Pandits — has endured so much trauma over the years.

“My parents died, our house was burned, still we moved forward. And now our only son has been killed. Why has the police not arrested those responsible?” he asked, addressing his appeal to Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He also alleged the accused drivers are roaming free and questioned the pace of the police investigation. “The media has been with us, but nothing has happened. I don’t know what the police are doing…,” he said. “We are half dead.”

Accident, an arrest, bail granted

On June 25 at 6.30 am, Sarthak was returning home on his motorcycle when a Thar allegedly hit him from behind near Rajokri flyover in Delhi. As per the FIR, due to the impact of the collision, the bike fell off the flyover.

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During the probe, investigators found that the Mahindra Thar was registered in the name of a Bengaluru-based private company.

Police found that the vehicle had been leased to Sagar Saha (29), who hails from Bihar, and is employed with the company.

During questioning, Saha told police that the SUV was being driven by his friend, Apurv Singh (30), a resident of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, who is employed with a private company.

Sagar claimed he was in the passenger seat when the collision took place.

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Apurv was arrested on June 27, said officers. He later got bail.

A senior police officer said they nabbed the culprit and the vehicle was seized within a day. On bail being granted, he said, “The case was registered as per the law and the court granted bail.”

The father, meanwhile, also raised concerns about forensic procedures, questioning why blood samples were taken so late. “I am somewhat educated… can somebody tell me how you can get alcohol content in the blood after 50 hours?” he asked in the video.

“I am ready to do anything for justice,” Surender added. “If I have to do it alone, I will. We are law-abiding citizens and taxpayers. Please get justice for my son.”