Delhi: E-rickshaw driver injured in scuffle over passengers, dies next day

Yadav then got back to work and ferried passengers through the day.

But the next day, he died.

In his complaint to police, Yadav’s brother, Jitender, said: “My brother came back home in the night and went to sleep… When I woke up the next morning, there was swelling around his neck. He told me about the fight that had taken place the day before.”

Even as he was concerned, Jitender went to work. But when he returned, his brother’s condition had worsened significantly.

“Dharmender’s face and neck were swollen completely, and he was having difficulty breathing,” Yadav’s uncle, Rajendra, told The Indian Express. Yadav was rushed to Indira Gandhi Hospital, where he was further referred to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital. “While doctors were telling Jitender where to take him, Dharmender fainted… doctors declared him dead,” said Rajendra.

According to Rajendra, one of the neighbours, also an e-rickshaw driver, had seen the whole incident unfold. “He told us that a man named Haripal Singh was the person who strangled Dharmender,” alleged Rajendra.

The victim’s family subsequently filed a complaint on June 11, and police lodged an FIR against Singh. According to police, CCTV footage from near the scene of the crime revealed Singh to be the primary suspect.

Police said Singh was arrested the same day under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the BNS and has been sent to judicial custody. The police said Yadav’s post-mortem report is still awaited.