Indian in hit-and-run still free

MANILA, Philippines - Weeks after killing a man in a traffic accident and fleeing the scene of the crime, why has Indian businessman Rajiv Dargani not been apprehended?

“We cannot arrest him unless the court issues a warrant of arrest. The case is now pending before the Makati prosecutor’s office,” city police chief Senior Superintendent Manuel Lukban said yesterday.

Witnesses identified Dargani as the one driving an R8 Audi – whose license plate was taken from another vehicle – that overtook another vehicle along McKinley Road and then hit a motorcycle on the opposite lane at past 3 a.m. on April 20.

Motorcycle driver Henrix Bernardo died on the spot while his passenger, Glenn Nacion Jr., was seriously injured.

A week after Bernardo’s death, Dargani – president of Sunglass Hut Philippines, a distributor of high-end sunglasses – took a three-day trip to Hong Kong for a “religious discourse” and repeatedly told police he would surrender soon.

According to a police official based in Camp Crame, if the suspect in a crime is positively identified, he can be arrested through a “hot pursuit” operation even without a warrant. The official requested anonymity since he is not authorized to speak on the case.

However, the suspect has to be arrested and charged within three to four days of committing the crime, the official said.

Once this period lapses, the victims or the police officers investigating the case will have to bring the matter to a prosecutor and the suspect can no longer be arrested until an arrest warrant is issued, he added.

The prosecutor has to determine probable cause then file charges in court. The judge will then decide whether or not to issue an arrest warrant.

The official said all it takes for a suspect to remain free of jail – at least until a judge issues an arrest warrant – is to stay hidden for three to four days after the crime.

On April 24, the Makati police charged Dargani with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, physical injuries and abandonment of one’s victim with the prosecutor’s office after the businessman failed to fulfill his promise to surrender, Lukban said.

An emissary of Dargani has settled the case with the victims’ families, who have filed affidavits of desistance.

In a letter to The STAR in response to reports on his Hong Kong trip, Dargani said he has no intention of running away from the case and is “ready to face the charges at the proper time.”