A 21-year-old died and his friend was injured after a man allegedly plowed into their bike with his car — minutes after they objected to him “blowing smoke on their faces”. While the incident took place Sunday, the victim, Gurpreet Singh, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday — three days after he was admitted to the AIIMS trauma centre. His friend, Maninder Singh, is stable, police said. The man driving the car was arrested and booked under murder charges Wednesday.

While the initial argument took place around 4 am on September 17 near a roadside eatery outside Safdarjung Hospital, the men mowed down half a kilometre from the spot, after they left on their bike and the accused allegedly gave chase, police said. Gurpreet, a student of Delhi College of Photography, was out to shoot a documentary on homeless people near AIIMS Hospital, police said.

DCP (south) Ishwar Singh said, “The accused, Rohit Mahanta, who hails from Assam, was initially nabbed from the spot since his Ford Fiesta had hit two more vehicles in the area. But he was bailed out in the rash driving case. It appears that the accused intentionally hit Gurpreet’s motorcycle despite knowing he might get killed. Hence, we have booked him under sections of murder and attempt to murder, besides others.”

After Gurpreet’s death around 11 am on Wednesday, his family launched a protest near the spot and demanded strict action against the accused.

Maninder told police that they had come to scout for a site near AIIMS for their documentary, and decided to eat at a roadside eatery. He said Mahanta, who was smoking nearby, “blew smoke on their faces”. The two protested, and a heated argument ensued. Police said both parties were pacified after passersby intervened. But moments after the duo left, Mahanta got into his car and followed, an eyewitness told police. After allegedly hitting the bike, Mahanta reversed his car and hit a taxi and an auto.

Some passersby rushed Gurpreet and Maninder to AIIMS, while others pulled Mahanta out and handed him over to the police.