A female pedestrian is battling for life after being hit by a car involved in a police chase near Dhanas on Saturday night.

The speeding car ploughed into an electricity pole before crashing into the innocent bystander, Nisha Garg, 44, a resident of Dhanas, who remains critical at PGIMER.

The car driver, Maninder Singh of Khanna, was being chased by Punjab Police all the way from Khanna, Ludhiana, following a tip-off by the health department regarding his involvement in a crime.

In the car was also a nurse, an informant of the police and health department. Both escaped with minor injuries.

Shortly before the crash, another car passenger, a resident of Sector 15, had stepped out of the car near PGIMER. Police moved in and detained the man. Noticing this, Maninder sped off towards Dhanas to escape the police.

But while racing through the roads, he ended up ramming his car into an electricity pole and further hitting Garg who was present at the scene, said police.

Onlookers nabbed Maninder and handed him over to the Sarangpur police, while Garg was rushed to PGIMER.

Maninder is facing a case under Sections 279 (rash driving) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code, registered at the Sarangpur police station.

Police officials familiar with the case said a search of Maninder’s car led to recovery of an ultrasound device used for prenatal sex determination. “We have arrested the driver for the accident for now and are awaiting a formal complaint from the Punjab health department or Punjab Police against the other suspected crime for further criminal proceedings,” said a senior police officer.