For the last 24 hours, Sarib has been receiving constant calls from strangers about his father’s nature and goodwill. Aftab Alam (45) loved his job as a cab driver and, in the last 15 years, had never even once complained about an unruly passenger. But on Saturday, Sarib received a call and for once, his father sounded uncomfortable about passengers who had hailed the cab that was going from Bulandshahr to Delhi.
A few hours later, the passengers assaulted Aftab, leading to his death. Sarib alleges the accused asked his father to chant Jai Shri Ram before killing him, and has a recording of the phone call to back his claim. Police maintain the men were not asking Aftab to say Jai Shri Ram, but were rather speaking to someone else.
The driver’s body was found near Noida.
“We live in Trilokpuri and almost anyone who has been in his cab can attest to the fact that he was a nice person. No one had a grievance against him. In fact, the person who had sent him to drop passengers in Bulandshahr cannot find words to express himself; he feels so guilty. He was taken away from us in such a brutal fashion,” said Sarib (22).
Sarib has two siblings, aged 15 and 17, who stay with their mother in Mayur Vihar. One of them wants to be a doctor.
Aftab had bought a Swift Dzire a few years ago on a finance scheme, and was hoping to pay off the debt quickly by working overtime. “My mother is a housewife and I am in my third year of college. But the responsibility is on me now. This was a hate crime; I plan to get the FIR changed to mention the part where they forced him to chant Jai Shri Ram. Justice needs to be done,” said Sarib.
Noida Police are yet to identify the accused and have so far have examined CCTV footage from different locations. “We are initiating the process of transferring the case to Bulandshahr. The crime scene is Bhood Chauraha which falls in Bulandshahr’s Sikandrabad. It is yet to be finalised since the paperwork has not been completed. The case is essentially that of assault and murder and there is no religious angle to it,” said Harish Chander, DCP 2, Noida.
Bulandshahr Police said they will begin the probe once official communication is received. “We have not yet received the file but we will accept the case and try to work it out as soon as possible. The driver was alive till the toll plaza which falls in Greater Noida region. We will investigate speedily and all angles will be looked into,” said Santosh Kumar Singh, SSP, Bulandshahr.