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GURUGRAM: A 28-year-old driver and his passenger were burnt alive inside a CNG retro-fitted Maruti Swift cab which burst into flames after a speeding truck rammed it from behind at Rajiv Chowk , on the Delhi-Gurugram expressway, at around 3am on Sunday.

The fire activated the car's central-locking system, trapping the occupants inside, police added. "The entire car was burnt. We could barely identify the dead. The car has been seized and will be sent to the forensic lab. Its manufacturer may also be asked to help us in the probe," said an officer.

The driver was identified as Manpreet, resident of Sheetla Mata Colony here, but the identity of the passenger is yet to be established.

Cops brought out the two men from the car and took them to Civil Hospital, where they were declared brought dead with over 95% burns.

Manpreet was partnering an app-based cab aggregator, and used to work mostly in the night. "The cab was registered in his brother's name. He used to operate mostly at night," said a relative. Other family members were not willing to speak.

It appears that the passenger, who was sitting in the back seat, had hiked a ride few kilometres from the accident site. There was no trace of a ride being booked prior to the accident. The passenger, who was working with some private company in Gurugram, is probably from Jharkhand, but his identity is yet to be established.

"We've handed over Manpreet's body to his family. The identity of the second victim is yet to be confirmed," said investigating officer ASI Manoj of Sadar police station, adding the car was hit from behind on the fuel tank and caught fire, and that no arrest has been made so far. Police said the cause of the fire would be ascertained after the forensic results.

Earlier, on March 30, a 56-year-old property dealer was charred to death inside his CNG-fitted car in Gurugram. Sube Singh was talking to someone on the phone sitting inside his car with the AC on in front of his office in Garhi, when the vehicle caught fire. Then too, the door locks apparently jammed from excessive heat, and Singh could not come out.

Earlier, a charred body of an unidentified person was found in a car in Sector 59 on March 12. Passersby spotted the car and alerted the fire station and police. The gender and identity of the person has not been confirmed yet.

In March 2017, a 22-year-old man was burnt alive and two of his friends received burn injuries, when the car they were travelling in, collided with a mini-truck on the Sohna-Faridabad road and caught fire.

