Prateek Tanmay
3 min readNew DelhiJun 28, 2026 08:27 AM IST
Sarthak Mattoo, an employee of an event management company and a resident of Gurgaon’s DLF phase 4, would have turned 34 on Saturday. But his family – still unable to cope with the news of his death — has to now learn to deal with his absence.
On Thursday, around 6:30 pm, he was returning home on his motorcycle when a speeding Thar allegedly hit him from behind near Rajokri flyover in Delhi.
As per the FIR, the bike — due to the impact of the collision – fell on the right side of the flyover. Identified as Apurv Singh (30), the SUV driver was arrested on Saturday, said officers.
DCP Amit Goel said, “A police team rushed to the spot after the accident while a medico-legal case was later received from the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre in Vasant Kunj, informing that the injured man had been brought to the hospital but was declared brought dead by doctors.”
During the probe, investigators identified the vehicle involved in the accident as a Mahindra Thar 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 and currently posted in Bengaluru.
Saha, during questioning, told police that the SUV was being driven at the time of the accident by his friend, Apurv Singh (30), a resident of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, who is employed with a private company. Sagar claimed he was travelling in the passenger seat when the collision took place, police said.
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The Mahindra Thar has been seized as part of the investigation. Police have apprehended Apurv Singh, and his medical examination was conducted at Safdarjung Hospital.
Speaking with The Indian Express, Sarthak’s father, Surender Mattoo (66), a former logistics professional, said they only want justice now. “My son was working at an event management company in Gurgaon but had left for Noida for some work. I found the number of the DCP from the website and he was kind enough to arrange a meeting today. I asked about the delay in conducting the blood alcohol tests of the driver (45 hours late)… he said specialised tests still exist to test for presence of trade amounts.”
He added, “I was told the two accused are educated professionals, working with MNCs. They should have at least helped my son and taken him to the hospital instead of running away. That could have saved his life.”
Sarthak, who had pursued a master’s degree from London, would have turned 34 Saturday. For the 66-year-old father, one memory has become impossible to shake off — the expensive helmet he had bought for Sarthak and the promise he had extracted from him. “I got him a very expensive helmet and made him promise that he would always wear it so he remained safe. He was wearing the helmet, yet it couldn’t save him.”
