Representative illustration

DEHRADUN: A 25-year-old youth was brutally stabbed to death with a screwdriver by a local businessman in what police said was a “rare” case of road rage in the city. Bhupesh Mahar, a former call centre employee, was with two friends in his Chevrolet Beat at 2.45am on Saturday when his vehicle hit the rear of another car near Green Park under Patel Nagar police station limits.

The enraged driver of the Toyota Etios, identified as Sumit Rathod who runs a taxi service in Dehradun , got down from the car and had a heated argument with Mahar.

Mahar’s friends who remained seated in the car told police that they saw Rathod go back to his vehicle and return with a screwdriver. “Before anybody could react or understand what Rathod was about to do, he plunged the sharp object into Mahar’s chest in one swift movement,” a police officer said.

Mahar’s companions panicked when they saw Rathod running away and their friend spurting blood and falling down with a thud on the desolate street. The two men, Sunil Mehta and Brijesh Singh Samant, then took their friend to Mahant Indresh Hospital where he died during treatment.

Police said that Rathod, a resident of Green Park, was brought in for questioning based on the CCTV footage recovered from the area.

Dehradun SSP Nivedita Kukreti told TOI, “Prima facie, it appears that the murder was a result of sudden provocation. We are questioning Rathod and the two witnesses.”

Mahar had reportedly taken alcohol before getting behind the wheel. Police said they would probe whether the accused, too, was drunk.

The victim hailed from Pithoragarh and had recently quit his job at a call centre in Dehradun. He lived in Subash Nagar. Police said that Mahar’s family was in Haridwar to conduct his last rites and was yet to file a complaint in the matter.

The crime has left the city stunned. Traffic police sub-inspector Manmohan Singh said that instances of road rage have rarely been reported in Dehradun.

“A crime of such nature is rare in the city which is why it has come as a shock,” Singh said.