A 28-year-old Muslim driver has died after allegedly being beaten by a group of Hindu Kanwar pilgrims in northern India, following a road accident in Uttar Pradesh.
The driver identified only as “Azeem” died at Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital on August 4, five days after the alleged assault in Hapur district. His family says he was attacked after his pickup truck collided with an auto-rickshaw carrying Kanwariyas, Hindu devotees taking part in the annual Kanwar Yatra, a major pilgrimage during which devotees travel to collect holy water from the Ganges and carry it to Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva.
Police have registered an attempted murder case against seven people, while also filing a counter-case based on the other side’s complaint.
The incident took place on July 31 near the Garh toll plaza in Hapur.
According to Azeem’s father, Intezar Hussain, his son was driving a pickup truck when it collided with an auto-rickshaw carrying Kanwar pilgrims.
Hussain alleges that the auto driver and several passengers then attacked Azeem. After the alleged assault, Azeem was left at the roadside, according to his family.
Police initially took him to a local hospital. His condition was serious and he was subsequently referred to hospitals in Meerut before being transferred to Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi. He remained under treatment for around five days before he died on August 4.
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A First Information Report (FIR) was filed at Garh Mukteshwar police station and names seven auto drivers, all residents of Bajheda Khurd village. Two other people have also been listed as unidentified accused.
The case has been registered under provisions of India’s Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the country’s main criminal law, including sections relating to rioting, causing hurt and attempted murder.
Azeem’s family says the beating left him critically injured and ultimately resulted in his death. However, police have also registered a cross-FIR following a complaint from the auto driver.
In that version of events, Azeem is accused of deliberately ramming his pickup into the auto and attempting to run over the driver. He has also been booked under an attempted murder provision.
The two accounts differ sharply, and police say the circumstances surrounding the collision, the alleged assault and Azeem’s death remain under investigation.
Severe brain injuries
A death certificate issued by Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi, and seen by Indian news outlet Maktoob records Azeem’s cause of death as: “extra-axial bleed, subarachnoid haemorrhage, mass effect and diffuse cerebral edema secondary to cardiopulmonary arrest.”
In simpler terms, the medical document records bleeding inside the skull and around the brain, pressure on the brain and widespread brain swelling, followed by cardiac and respiratory arrest.
The medical certificate records the nature of his fatal injuries, but determining how those injuries were caused remains part of the police investigation.
Hapur Police said after reports of the incident circulated on social media that a case had been registered at Garh Mukteshwar police station and that legal proceedings were underway.
Maktoob said it attempted to contact officials at Garh Mukteshwar police station and Hapur Police for further details and clarification about Azeem’s injuries and death. The calls went unanswered.
For Azeem’s father, the death of his son has also meant the loss of the person who kept the family going.
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“Ab to mera koi sahara hi nahi bacha,” Intezar Hussain told Maktoob. “I am left with no support now.”
Hussain said his wife died years ago and that he has been bedridden for the past couple of years. Azeem had become responsible for his father’s medicines, healthcare and the needs of the household.
“He used to look after my health, medicines and family. Now that he is gone, I am left with no support,” Hussain said.
He also questioned the identification of those named in the police case.
“We don’t know any of the attackers. The police named the accused on their own. All we want is a fair investigation and justice,” he said.
Azeem is survived by his father, his wife and their five-month-old son. Firasat Hussain Gama, a state secretary of the Samajwadi Party and a resident of the region, visited Azeem’s family after his death. He told Maktoob that the family was already living in severe financial hardship and that Azeem had been their sole breadwinner.
“The family is very economically backward. They are living in a makeshift house covered with tarpaulin. Azeem, who worked as a transporter, was their only provider. He used to take care of the entire family,” Gama said.
The family now has to survive without the man who provided for them.
“Now they do not have anyone to provide for his father, widow and infant,” Gama said.
He criticised the Uttar Pradesh government and called for financial assistance for the family.
“If the government fails to address the financial condition of this family even after learning that its sole breadwinner died in an alleged mob attack by Kanwariyas, it will be a shame for them,” he said.
Waiting for justice
The Kanwar Yatra is one of the largest annual Hindu pilgrimages in northern India. During the pilgrimage season, millions of devotees travel through states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Delhi.
The pilgrimage can also lead to major traffic diversions and heightened police deployments along routes used by the pilgrims.
It was during this period that Azeem was allegedly attacked after the road collision in Hapur.
His family is now seeking a fair investigation into what happened after the crash and accountability for the circumstances that led to his death.
But beyond the police investigation, Azeem’s death has left behind a family facing an immediate and devastating reality: an elderly, bedridden father without his son, a young widow without her husband, and a five-month-old child who will grow up without his father.
