New Delhi: A 24-year-old cab driver crashed into an electric pole while being chased by a group of people, and despite his injuries, he was allegedly abducted and assaulted by the pursuers, resulting in his death, a police officer said on Sunday.
The victim was identified as Mohammad Ujaib, a resident of Rajapuri near Dwarka. The incident occurred in New Roshanpura, near Najafgarh.
Police said a case has been registered under sections 140 (kidnapping) and 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. One of the suspects was apprehended on Sunday and is being interrogated, said Deputy Commissioner of police (Dwarka) Kushal Pal Singh.
His family suspects he was chased for allegedly failing to repay a loan from a private lender. However, police said they are probing the case to ascertain the motive.
Police said around 1.26am on Friday, the Chhawla police station received a call regarding a road crash near the DDA office in Najafgarh. When police arrived, they found no occupant in the car.
The caller told the police she called after spotting a damaged cab. The CCTV footage showed that the car being driven rashly and at a high speed was flung into the air after crossing a speed breaker and crashed into the pole, and some people were seen shifting the injured driver in another car.
Police believed that they were Samaritans who might have rushed the injured driver to the hospital. However, the story turned out to be different.
At 1.38pm on Friday, police received a call from a private hospital regarding a patient named Mohammad Ujaib, who had been brought dead. Ujaib’s brother, Mohammad Jaid, was found present at the hospital, and the body was sent to Rao Tula Ram Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
“Jaid told police that on Friday, around 8.30am, he received a call from a taxi driver, informing him about Ujaib’s critical health condition and asking him to come to Rajapuri. When Jaid reached the cab, the cab driver told him that some people had assaulted Ujaib and put him inside his vehicle and asked him to drop him at his residence.
The DCP said that Ujaib’s family members rushed him to the hospital “The case is being probed from all possible motives,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ujaib’s family members suspect that one of the accused is a moneylender from Rajapuri, who had earlier been enraged with Ujaib for not repaying ₹8,000 of a ₹50,000 loan taken from him a few months ago, and who often threatened Ujaib.
