HYDERABAD: A cab driver, who was assaulted by three youngsters after his car bumped against their vehicle, was found dead in his car, near Masthan Hotel, at Tadbund in Bowenpally police station limits on Saturday. Sources said that 32-year-old Neelam Kumar was made to do 15 sit-ups by the assailants as punishment.
Though relatives alleged that the assault led to his death, the police are waiting for the post-mortem report to confirm the cause of death.
Meanwhile, Ramgopalpet police arrested two youngsters in connection with the case, while another person is absconding. The arrested persons are - Sai Kumar and Kiran Kumar. Kiran Kumar is the son of a building contractor and a resident of ECIL.
Kumar, a resident of Mallapur in Saroornagar had entered into an argument with the three youngsters on Thursday.
The trio was travelling in their Hyundai car when they rammed Kumar’s car from behind near Ameerpet causing partial damage.
As soon as the incident occurred, the youngsters stopped Kumar and entered into an argument with him. The trio then took Kumar to a Hyundai showroom in Begumpet where the mechanic estimated the loss at Rs 5,000.
The youngsters then demanded that Kumar pay Rs 5,000 for repairs. Kumar refused to pay, claiming that the accident was a result of negligence on the part of the youngsters.
Enraged by his argument, the trio assaulted him inside the showroom and snatched his wallet containing ATM card, car’s registration certificate and Rs 3,500 in cash. They made him do more than 15 sit-ups.
Aggrieved by the incident, Kumar approached Ramgopalpet police and lodged a complaint.
Later he proceeded towards Bowenpally and he was found dead inside the car.
Police maintained that he could have died of health complications resulting from severe heat.
Locals found Kumar’s body in the car and alerted Bowenpally police.
Police rushed to the spot and shifted him to Gandhi General Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. Police recovered Kumar’s mobile phone and found that the last call was made to Kumar’s bother who is a driver with TSRTC.
While Ramgopalpet police registered cases of assault and extortion against the youngsters based on Kumar’s complaint, Bowenpally police has registered a case under 174 CrPC for suspicious death.
During the course of investigation, Ramgopalpet police identified the two youngsters as Sai Kumar and Kiran Kumar based on the CCTV footage recovered from the Hyundai showroom where he was made to do sit-ups.