New Delhi: Four days after a group of kanwariyas allegedly dragged a truck driver and beat him near Garhmukhteswar following a road collision, 24-year-old Azeem Ali succumbed to his injuries in a Delhi hospital.
Azeem, a resident of Moradabad, left for Delhi with his pickup truck on 31 July, promising his wife and three-month-old son he would be back home soon. He never returned.
Police in Uttar Pradesh said Azeem’s pickup truck collided with an auto rickshaw hired by several kanwariyas during their Kanwar Yatra to collect holy water from the Ganga. The collision took place near a Shiva Dhaba in Hapur’s Garhmukhteshwar hours after leaving home.
Police said the pickup truck lost control and hit the auto driver, Arman, who was standing next to the auto rickshaw. Arman was injured in the accident, following which the kanwariyas dragged Azeem out and beat him up.
Meanwhile, with no word from Ali the next day, his wife became worried.
“When the phone rang on 2 August, I thought it was Azeem, but it wasn’t,” she told ThePrint over the phone.
The police called around 5 a.m. to inform her that Ali had been taken to a hospital in Meerut and his condition was deteriorating by the minute.
“We got to know that he had met with an accident. When we reached the hospital, we saw his body wrapped in bandages and the doctor informed us that he had gone into a coma,” said Maqbool Ali, his elder brother.
Maqbool said he learnt at the hospital that his brother’s pickup truck had collided with an auto with several kanwariyas in it. “His truck had collided with an auto, and then the kanwariyas sitting inside the auto pulled out my brother and beat him up mercilessly. The police then drove him to a hospital.”
Unable to understand his condition, Maqbool tried to speak to his brother, but he said. “Woh toh laash ki tarah pada huya tha (he was lying like a lifeless body)”.
When Azeem’s condition did not improve, he was moved to a hospital in Delhi. “On 4 August, around 9 p.m., the doctor called to inform us that he was no more. If my brother had made some mistake, why not hand him over to the police? Why beat him up?” Maqbool asked.
Two FIRs
Following Azeem’s death, the police registered an FIR at the Garmukhteshwar police station and booked five people: Manish, Ankit, Lokesh, Shivam, all kanwariyas, and the auto driver Arman. Two other unknown persons were also booked.
The accused have been booked under Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to attempt to murder, rioting, and voluntarily causing simple hurt. The Print has accessed a copy of the FIR.
The Hapur Police said on social media platform X that they had received a written complaint from Azeem’s family and had taken appropriate legal action. The police are yet to identify two more persons involved in thrashing Azeem. No arrests have been made so far.
“Based on the written complaint, a case has been registered at Garhmukhteshwar police station under relevant sections, and further legal proceedings are underway,” the post read.
प्रकरण के संबंध में प्राप्त तहरीर के आधार पर थाना गढ़मुक्तेश्वर पर सुसंगत धाराओं में अभियोग पंजीकृत है एवं अग्रिम विधिक कार्यवाही की जा रही है।
— HAPUR POLICE (@hapurpolice) August 6, 2026
Meanwhile, Imran, the auto driver’s father, filed another FIR in the matter.
According to the FIR accessed by The Print, 19-year-old Hapur resident Arman stepped out on 30 July with a group of kanwariyas for Brijghat in Hapur.
“My son was standing near Hapur’s Shiva Dhaba when a pickup truck driven by Azeem hit him. As a result, he fell down on the road, and the vehicle drove over him, injuing him,” read the FIR.
Imran added in his complaint that his son suffered serious injuries in his stomach and was being treated at the AIIMS trauma centre.
The police registered an FIR and booked Azeem under sections of the BNS related to attempted murder.
ThePrint reached out to several Uttar Pradesh Police officers but did not receive a response. This article will be updated if and when they respond.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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