Jahangir had purchased the auto in 2017. He would use his earnings to pay off the loan and send money home.
A video made by a passerby shows Jahangir Alam in his final moments, covered in blood and lying next to a pavement in Connaught Place. With the keys of his autorickshaw in his hand, Jahangir can be heard saying ‘they stabbed me’ while rolling on the ground in pain.
In the video, passersby ask him questions about his condition, but do not provide first-aid or take him to a hospital. He was eventually taken to a hospital in a police vehicle, where he succumbed to his injuries.
According to police, Jahangir was done for the day and was heading home to Jamia Nagar when he decided to drop a last set of passengers from Khan Market to Connaught Place. The ride soon turned fatal.
It was in 2017 when Jahangir had purchased the auto for Rs 6 lakh. It was a source of livelihood not just for him, but also for his wife Mahmuda and four children.
According to Jahangir’s uncle, Manirul Islam (38), he paid the bank Rs 14,000 every month. The rest of his earnings were sent to the family in Harishchandrapur, Malda.
His uncle claimed that had people helped Jahangir instead of making videos of his plight, he may have survived.
“He drove the auto after being stabbed to rush himself to the hospital. It was when his body started giving up that he lay down on the road, asking for help… and all he got were mobile phones pointing at him,” Manirul alleged.
Jahangir was allegedly found by a patrolling gypsy at the junction of Kasturba Gandhi Marg leading to the outer radial road of Connaught Place.
“It is a busy junction. There are restaurants on either side of the crossing… and yet a man was dying openly with no immediate help,” said Manirul.