Noida: A 49-year-old cyclist died after a BMW speeding through fog crashed into him from behind in Nithari village late on Monday night.Ashok Sharma, a resident of Khurja in Bulandshahr, was returning home on his bicycle after work when the BMW hit him near Saraswati School, close to pillar number 30 of the Noida elevated road, around 11pm.

The impact flung him in the air, hurled him several metres ahead and snapped the bicycle into two halves. He suffered grievous injuries in the head and other body parts.

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After striking the cyclist, the BMW went out of control and crashed into a nearby electricity pole, damaging it badly, before climbing onto the road divider. Passersby who witnessed the accident informed police and rushed Sharma to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to injuries.

A team from Sector 20 police station reached the accident spot and arrested the driver — Mankul Mahajan (39), a property dealer living in a society in Sector 44.

Police said Mahajan attempted to flee after the accident, but locals caught him and handed him over to cops.An FIR was registered against Mahajan for causing death by negligence and rash driving. The BMW — bearing a VIP registration number UP16-EB 4444 — was seized and taken to the police station.

Its front portion was badly damaged.A senior police officer said the accident occurred amid foggy conditions and compromised visibility, when speed limits are already reduced on major stretches. "The car was being driven at a very high speed, which appears to be the primary cause of the crash. We sent the driver for a medical examination, whose reports were unclear on whether he was drunk at the time of the accident," the officer said.A video of the car's interior was widely circulated on social media, purportedly showing cigarette packets, lighter and empty liquor bottles inside the vehicle. The clip triggered public outrage and demands for strict action against the BMW driver.Sharma, who was employed as a supervisor at an institution in Sector 10, was the sole earning member of his family. After autopsy, the body was handed over to the family, who are expected to perform the last rites on Wednesday. The family demanded compensation from the state govt and strict punishment for the accused. Police pointed out that Sharma was linked to earlier controversies as well, including an alleged online betting case in 2024.

"We are collecting information about the driver's criminal background from other districts," a police official said.