GHAZIABAD: Syed Imtiyaz Qadri, the alleged impersonator in the
Audi hit-and-run case who had claimed to be driving the car that killed four persons in January last year, has been brought to Ghaziabad from Thane, where he was lodged in jail for the past one year in connection with some robbery cases.
Qadri was presented before a Ghaziabad court on Wednesday and sent to Dasna jail. The absence of Qadri, who is one of three persons named in the chargesheet by police, had so far affected court proceedings in connection with the hit-and-run case. The hearing will resume on June 11 and charges are likely to be framed against him by the court.
On the night of January 28 last year, an Audi Q7, owned by neurosurgeon Dr Manish Rawat, had collided with an auto-rickshaw head on near the Hindon canal in Indirapuram, killing four passengers in the three-wheeler. Two days later on January 30, Qadri had turned up in court, identifying himself as Ishaq Ahmad — his neighbour in his village in Bareilly district — and claiming to be at the wheel of the Audi on the day of the accident. He had secured bail the next day.
Police investigation had later revealed that the original Ishaq was unaware of the accident and Qadri had used a copy of his driving licence to appear in court. Qadri fled Bareilly with his wife and two children to Thane, from where he hailed. He was arrested a few months later in connection with some robbery cases and had since been lodged in a Thane jail.
Ghaziabad police had submitted a chargesheet in November last year, accusing Rawat, the Audi owner, of rash driving and causing death by negligence. Qadri and his lawyer Raj Kumar were slapped charges of impersonation and forging documents under the IPC sections 419 (punishment for cheating by impersonation), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record). Sources said it was surprising that police did not mention any charge of impersonation against Rawat, who had said he was in the vehicle on the day of the accident but was not driving the car.
Qadri was brought to Ghaziabad after the city court hearing the case issued summons to officials at the Thane jail, where he was lodged for the past one year. Additional chief judicial magistrate Vikas Srivastava sent Qadri to Dasna jail. According to sources, he will be lodged in the jail until proceedings case are over.
Ishaq, a truck driver whom Qadri had impersonated, said on Wednesday he was planning to approach the Allahabad high court to get his name struck off the case. “Qadri has ruined my life. My only aim now is to get my name cleared off the case. At the time of accident, I was driving a truck somewhere in Assam,” he said over the phone from Bareilly.