Indian trader off the hook

The Indian businessman tagged in a hit-and-run incident that killed a motorcycle rider and caused his companion to lose a leg in Makati City last month is now off the hook.

Noting that the victims’ families were no longer pursuing the case after receiving compensation, the city prosecutor’s office ordered the withdrawal of the criminal complaints filed by the police against Rajiv Ramesh Dargani, president of Sunglass Hut Philippines, the local distributor of high-end eyewear brands like Oakley and Ray-Ban.

“They manifest that they are no longer interested in the further prosecution of the case,” according to an order signed by assistant city prosecutor Estefano de la Cruz and approved by chief prosecutor Feliciano Aspi.

The May 21 order said the affidavits of desistance by the victims’ relatives were considered motions to withdraw the charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and physical injuries earlier filed against Dargani.

The prosecutors said Glenn Nacion, who lost a leg in the incident, and the family of the late Henrix Guanlao Bernardo had received compensation from Dargani as disclosed by the aggrieved parties themselves.

Police said Dargani, a resident of the upscale Dasmariñas Village in Makati, was driving an Audi sports car on McKinley Road in Forbes Park around 3 a.m. on April 20 when it collided with a motorcycle driven by Bernardo with Nacion as the passenger.

The Indian was coming from the opposite lane and swerved to the left to overtake another car when the Audi hit the motorcycle head-on.

Dargani remained at large and, after 10 days, was reported to have made a three-day trip to Hong Kong despite an earlier statement to the media that he would surrender to the authorities.

Although Nacion and the Bernardos—all residents of Barangay (village) Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati—indicated early on that they were no longer pressing charges, the Makati police led by Senior Supt. Manuel Lukban filed complaints.

In an interview, Aspi said “we found no sufficient evidence to proceed with the case” and noted that the police submitted only a narration of the incident and the affidavits of desistance.