Disputes and fights over travel due to refusal of rickshaw or taxi drivers are not new to Mumbaikars. But a shocking incident has come to light where a man allegedly killed a 55-year-old taxi driver by hitting him on his head with a paver block multiple times after he refused to ferry him to some place in Mumbai from Dadar on Sunday morning, a police official said. The accused, identified as Basawraj Melenamani (30), was arrested within hours of the incident, he said.
The accused passenger was under the influence of liquor when he got into a quarrel with the taxi driver for refusing to ferry him. The argument escalated to such an extent that the passenger hit the taxi driver with a cement paver block. The taxi driver died on the spot.
"After the incident, police received a call that a person was lying in a pool of blood, following which a team reached the spot and rushed the victim to KEM Hospital. However, he was declared dead on arrival," the official said. While going through the CCTV footage, police found that the taxi driver, Chabiraj Jaiswar, had an argument with the accused before being attacked by him.
During the probe, police came to know that Melenamani is a local fruit vendor, he added. "Hours later, he was found loitering near Kabutarkhana, close to the spot where the incident occurred," he said, adding that the accused was possibly under the influence of liquor when he attacked the driver.