Elham Asaad Buaras
A 28-year-old Muslim driver has died in India after allegedly being beaten by a group of Hindu pilgrims following a road crash in Hapur district, Uttar Pradesh.
Azeem Ali died at Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital on August 4, five days after the incident on July 31 near the Garh toll plaza.
According to his family, Azeem was driving a pickup truck when it collided with an rickshaw carrying Kanwariyas — Hindu pilgrims taking part in the annual Kanwar Yatra.
Azeem’s father, Intezar Hussain, alleged that the auto-rickshaw driver and several passengers attacked his son following the collision and left him by the roadside.
Police initially took Azeem to a local hospital. As his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to hospitals in Meerut before being moved to Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi, where he remained under treatment for several days before his death.
Police have registered a case naming seven people in connection with the alleged assault, with two other suspects listed as unidentified. The case includes charges relating to rioting, causing injury and attempted murder.
However, a separate case was filed following a complaint from the auto-rickshaw driver. In that account, Azeem is accused of deliberately ramming his pickup truck into the auto-rickshaw and attempting to run over its driver.
Police have not established which version of events is correct, and the circumstances surrounding the collision, alleged assault and Azeem’s death remain under investigation.
Police have registered a case naming seven people in connection with the alleged assault, with two other suspects listed as unidentified. The case includes charges relating to rioting, causing injury and attempted murder.
Hapur Police confirmed a case had been registered and that legal proceedings were under way.
Azeem’s death has left his family facing severe financial hardship. His father said Azeem had been responsible for his medicines, healthcare and the family’s daily needs.
“Now that he is gone, I am left with no support,” said Hussain.
Azeem leaves behind his father, his wife and his five-month-old son.
Firasat Hussain Gama, a state secretary of India’s Samajwadi Party who visited the family, said Azeem had been the household’s sole provider and called for financial assistance from the Uttar Pradesh government.
The incident occurred during the annual Kanwar Yatra, one of northern India’s largest Hindu pilgrimages, when millions of devotees travel through states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Delhi.
The investigation into the road crash and the events that followed remains ongoing, with Azeem’s family calling for a full and fair investigation.
