Cab driver beaten to death by drunk assailants on Western UP highway

noida: A Delhi-based taxi driver was beaten to death by unidentified assailants who boarded the cab without calling for it on the Bulandshahr-Ghaziabad highway here on Sunday. The victim, Aftab Aalam's son, however, said that he heard one of the assailants say "Jai Shree Ram" before the conversation in the car turned

aggressive.

"Around 3 pm on Sunday, my father called me and asked to recharge his car's FASTag as he was heading towards Luharli toll plaza near Dadri. However, the recharge couldn't get processed and when I called him back, he said that some passengers have boarded the car and he is making cash payment at the toll," said Sabir Aalam, the deceased's son.

Sabir further said that there were around three men in the car and were in an inebriated condition. "When the men started to drink in the car, my father again called me and kept the phone in his pocket. During the call, which lasted for some ten minutes, we heard that they were having some discussion over religion while one of the men chanted 'Jai Shree Ram' but another man tried to change the topic. However, a few minutes later the argument turned to be heated up and the phone went switched off," he added.

The 48-year-old cab driver was later found lying unconscious on the pillion seat of the car and succumbed to injuries while being taken to the hospital. Police have registered an FIR against unidentified persons based on the complaint given by the victim's son.

According to police, the deceased has been identified as a resident of the Trilokpuri area in Mayur Vihar Phase-I of Delhi. Aftab had gone to Bulandshahr from Gurgaon to drop a passenger and while returning back, some men boarded his car as passengers.

Aftab's family went to trace him after not being able to reach him and informed the local police who found him lying inside the car near a hospital in the Badalpur area along the highway.

"The victim was found with grievous injuries in his neck and forehead. It can be presumed that he was attacked by some sharp and pointed object after an argument broke out between them over fare charges. However, the body has been sent for post mortem and further investigations are underway. We are looking into the CCTV footage of toll plaza and the car was seen there," said Harish Chander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-II), Gautam Buddh Nagar.