delhi

Updated: Sep 24, 2018 07:18 IST

A 23-year-old man died after climbing on to the bonnet of a cab to protest against the driver, who scraped a participant of a religious procession in East Delhi on Saturday night and sped away after being surrounded by a group, his friends and family alleged.

The body of Rahul Kushwah was found about 2km away (on a flyover near a luxury hotel); his left arm was severed and there were injury marks on his face, said a friend.

Pankaj Kumar Singh, deputy commissioner of police (east), said a case was registered under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code. “We are yet to ascertain that Kushwah got on to the bonnet and was run over by the same vehicle. Based on the complaint from the man’s family, a case has been registered, and efforts are on to trace the driver.”

Kushwah, a part-time cook, lived with his father, who is a driver, mother and two brothers. He left his Pandav Nagar home on Saturday with others from the neighbourhood to take part in Ganesha idol immersion.

“It was around 9.30pm that we reached Samaspur on NH 24. A Swift Dzire hit one of the men accompanying us. We were at least 30-40 men. The driver seemed drunk and started arguing... all of us gheraoed his cab so that he could not escape. Kushwah got on to the bonnet,” said his friend, Rahul Kashyap.

He said the driver started the cab and escaped. “We managed to move out of the way, but Kushwah was stuck on the bonnet.”

People chasing the vehicle found Kushwah’s body 2km away. By then, a crowd had gathered. “The driver had managed to escape. Kushwah’s left arm was cut off. His face was badly damaged and he had severe injuries in his back. He was rushed to Lal Bahadur Shastri hospital, where doctors declared him dead,” Kashyap said.

The family accused the police of inaction and called Kushwah’s death a deliberate killing.