MEERUT:Nearly two weeks after 24-year-old pickup driver Mohd Azim died following an alleged assault by a group of kanwariyas enraged by a road accident on NH-9 in Hapur, police have added murder charge to the FIR and arrested four accused on Thursday. Ankit Kumar, Lokesh Singh, Shivam and Manish Kumar, all in their early 20s and residents of Bajheda Khurd village in Pilakhwa block of Hapur, were arrested, said police.Azim, a resident of Moradabad, died at Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi on Aug 4, four days after his pickup collided with an unknown autorickshaw near Shiva Dhaba on July 31. Police said an altercation followed, during which Azim was allegedly dragged out of his vehicle and beaten by several people. The FIR, which earlier included charges of attempt to murder, rioting with a deadly weapon and voluntarily causing grievous hurt, has now been amended to include BNS section 103(1), murder.Police had earlier named five accused, including autorickshaw driver Mohd Farman, who was also injured in the crash. Farman’s family has denied that he took part in the assault. “Farman was hit by Azim’s vehicle and sustained grievous injuries. How is it possible that he would have attacked Azim in that condition?” his father Mohd Imran said.Hapur SP Kunwar Gyananjay Singh said Farman’s role would be “reviewed” after police examine his medical records. “We are getting Farman’s medical summary from the hospital and will decide his role after proper investigation. If no evidence is found against Farman, he will be excluded,” Singh said.The case drew wide attention after TOI reported Azim’s death and the circumstances of the assault. Support later poured in for the family, with two businessmen, who requested anonymity, extending financial assistance to Azim’s wife, toddler son and elderly father. The family said he was the sole breadwinner. “All those responsible for his death should be arrested and prosecuted,” a family member said.“My son did not deserve to die so brutally because of an accident. I am relieved that police have added murder charge, arrested three accused and sent them to jail, but I want the strictest punishment for everyone involved. Azim was the only earning member of our family. I am old and unwell, and I don’t know how I will support his wife and their one-year-old son,” said Azim’s father, Mohd Intezar. “I am broken,” he added.According to police and Azim’s family, he was travelling from Moradabad towards Ghaziabad when his vehicle collided with the autorickshaw carrying Kanwar pilgrims. Farman suffered grievous injuries in the accident. Police said investigation so far indicated that Azim was assaulted after the crash with no definite motive.A separate FIR under BNS section 109(1), attempt to murder, was also registered against Azim three days after the accident. The move raised questions because legal experts said a road accident by itself would not establish the intention or knowledge required for an attempt-to-murder charge. “An accident, unless backed by evidence of intention or knowledge, cannot automatically become an attempt-to-murder case,” a legal expert said.A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the FIR against Azim appeared questionable in view of the circumstances. “There is no clear evidence so far to suggest that he deliberately attempted to kill Farman. The matter will ultimately depend on what the investigation establishes,” the officer said.
