Two GBU students among 3 held for dragging police barricade with SUV in Noida | Noida News
NOIDA: Three men were arrested after a video showing an SUV dragging a police barricade went viral on social media. The video, which also appeared to show a pistol on the rear seat, was later traced back to Feb. Two of the accused are students of Gautam Buddha University.The arrested persons — Nishant Pandit, his brother Sourabh Pandit, and their friend Aryakeet — are residents of Ecotech 3. Dankaur police took them into custody on Monday from the Jaypee Sports City main road. The SUV used in the video, a Mahindra Scorpio registered in Sourabh’s name, has also been seized.The video surfaced online on Saturday evening and came to police attention through X (formerly Twitter). It showed a speeding SUV with an occupant in the backseat pushing the boot open with his leg, causing a police barricade to be dragged for about 200 metres by the rear wheel. A pistol-like object was seen on the rear seat, while another person was driving the vehicle. The pinned location suggested it was shot near Galgotias University.“As the location was pinned as Galgotias University, the investigation was handed over to the Dankaur police team,” a senior officer told TOI. “We arrested them on Monday. The video was found to be from Feb.”Police said Nishant was driving the car at the time, while Aryakeet was seated beside him. Although the video showed what looked like a firearm, officials confirmed it was a cigarette lighter designed like a pistol.According to the investigation, the trio was returning from a wedding under the influence of alcohol when they came across the barricade under Eastern Peripheral Expressway.“They dragged the barricade deliberately to shoot a reel and share it with their friends to show off. It was done purely for fun and social media attention,” the officer said. Further investigation is underway, cops said.
