From correspondents in Delhi, India, 10:32 PM IST

In yet another apparent hit-and-run case in the capital, two youngsters were critically injured when a speeding BMW bearing a VIP registration plate from Haryana hit their motorbike here early Thursday, the police said, adding that a businessman's son was being quizzed.

Mrigank Srivastav and Anuj Singh, both in their mid-20s, were going towards Nizamuddin on Anuj's Pulsar bike when the speeding car hit them near the Moolchand flyover in Defence Colony around 2.40 a.m., the police said.

Singh, a BPO employee, and Srivastav, working with a private TV channel, were rushed to the Trauma Centre of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) by a police van patrolling the area. An auto-rickshaw driver, who saw the accident, alerted the police.

Singh, who was riding pillion, was stated to be in a critical condition late in the evening, while Srivastav showed some signs of recovery, the police said.

According to the police, the driver of the car and the other occupant, suspected to be a girl, tried to flee from the accident spot in their car. But they had to abandon their car as it was damaged in the front and behind with the window panes broken.

"The front left wheel of the car developed a snag and they had to abandon it some 200 metres from the accident site near a petrol pump. Initial investigations suggest that the car occupants must have broken the windowpanes to come out as the doors might have got locked due to the central locking system," said an investigating officer.

"The inspection of the car also suggests the presence of a woman when the accident took place. We have found a woman's footwear below the front seat. The impact of the accident could be gauged by the fact that the bike has been completely damaged," the officer added.

During the course of investigation police found that the car had a VIP registration number from Haryana. It was purchased in the name of Golden Rolls Private Limited of Sonepat by industrialist Narendra Kumar Bhasin, who is currently in China for a business deal.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Delhi) H.G.S. Dhaliwal said the police were interrogating Bhasin's 20-year-old son Utsav.

Utsav, who has studied up to Class 12 at a Delhi Public School, is suspected to be behind the wheels and her sister Sakshi could be accompanying him, according to the police.

"We have registered a case under the Indian Penal Code sections 279 (rash and negligent driving) and 337 (causing hurt by endangering life) and we would make arrests very soon," Dhaliwal said.

Utsav's grandfather S.R. Bhasin, who lives in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh area, said: "I don't know who took the car out of the house. No one has told me about the accident."

Bhasin's business manager Kailish Arora said the family has two drivers, Vishvanath and Virender. "But we don't know who was behind the wheel at the time of accident.'

Anuj Singh's grieving father Rajender said: "The rich drive carelessly on city roads without caring for others' lives. We want the culprit to be arrested and put behind bars in no time."

(Staff Writer, © IANS)