New Delhi: A 43-year-old taxi driver was killed after he was dragged for around 200 metres by a group of robbers who looted his car in southwest Delhi, an official said, adding that they have arrested two accused from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.
The deceased identified as Bijendra, a resident of Faridabad, was found dead near the service road of National Highway-8 in Delhi late on Tuesday.
The accused have been identified as Mehraj Salmani (33) and Asif (24), both residents of Meerut.
The police said that Salmani was previously involved in four cases in UP and two cases in Delhi, while Asif was involved in seven cases in UP and two cases in Delhi.
Significantly, a purported video capturing the incident circulated widely on social media, showing a man being pulled under a car. In the video, the man could be seen trapped between the rear and front wheels on the right side of the vehicle.
The Vasant Kunj North police station received a call at 11.37 p.m. on Tuesday informing that an unidentified body has been found.
“A case under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code was registered and a probe was initiated," an official said.
The Special Commissioner of Police (law & order), Sagar Preet Hooda, said that sensing the gravity of the offence, a special investigation team (SIT) was formed under the supervision of DCP (South-West District), Manoj C., comprising five team members.
"The SIT analysed the CCTV footage. Accordingly, the police got a lead in Meerut and informed all the nearby police stations of Meerut for assistance," said Hooda.
"Persistent effort of our staff along with the UP police team succeeded in apprehending Salmani and Asif involved in this case," said Hooda.
During initial interrogation, the duo revealed that they boarded the taxi as passengers and after some time threatened and pushed the taxi driver out of the car with the intent to rob the vehicle.
The deceased Bijender is survived by his wife and five children, with his eldest child pursuing history honours at the Deshbandu College under Delhi University.
Nagendra Shah, Bijender's younger brother, mentioned that the victim had recently purchased a taxi. On Wednesday at around 2 p.m., Bijender had informed his family that he had a passenger.
With inputs from agencies