MANGALURU: Driver of a pickup truck was arrested for allegedly committing murder following the death of two youths after the vehicle rammed into their scooter deliberately following an argument at Boliyar in Konaje police station limits on Monday.The police have arrested the pickup driver, identified as Hafeez alias Appi.The deceased are Mohammed Zunaid, 23, and Mohammed Afraz, 23, residents of Mangaluru.According to Mangaluru City Police commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy CH, initial investigations indicate that an argument over a mutual friend’s mobile phone triggered a physical altercation between the accused and two youths.The dispute escalated, and the accused allegedly confessed to deliberately running them over with his vehicle in a fit of rage.“Basic interrogation revealed this. Need to be confirmed and corroborated from other witnesses and circumstances,” Reddy said, adding that te police will produce him before magistrate.In a complaint, Ismail, Zunaid’s father and a resident of Ukkuda in Kinya village, has stated that his son had left home on his scooter along with Afraz on Monday.Later that evening, Ismail received a phone call from Abbas KM, a colleague, who informed him about Zunaid meeting with an accident and being shifted to a hospital.Following this, Ismail rushed to the hospital, where he found his son suffering from severe head injuries and unable to speak. Doctors later declared him dead. Meanwhile, Afraz also succumbed to the serious injuries he had sustained.Ismail stated that during his visit to the accident spot, he found the damaged scooter lying on the road and a nearby electricity pole broken. Meanwhile, the pickup truck was parked on the opposite side of the road, with damage to its front bumper and mudguard.Quoting local residents, Ismail stated that an argument had broken out between the two youths and Hafeez at Ranthadka Cross. Later, the argument reportedly escalated into a physical altercation.Soon after the incident, Zunaid and Afraz left on their scooter towards Mudipu, the complaint stated and alleged that the pickup driver chased them and deliberately rammed his vehicle into their scooter at high speed, resulting in the deaths of two youths.The accused allegedly abandoned the pickup truck at the accident spot and fled the scene. Konaje police have registered a case under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
