BHOPAL: A 17-year-old boy, who worked as a Rapido driver to fund his education, was shot dead in Gwalior on Friday evening simply because he had accompanied a friend who was responding to a challenge by another group of students.
The victim,
Imran
Khan, a Rapido rider, was returning home after completing a customer drop-off when he met a group of youngsters, including his acquaintances
Prince Khare
, Anoop, and Golu.
The tragic chain of events began when
Golu
received a call from a person identified by police as Arvind, challenging him to confront them at intersection number six of Murar area in Gwalior. Prince, Anoop, and Imran arrived at the designated spot where they encountered
Arvind
and his five associates, said police.
Tensions escalated, and the two sides clashed. Amid the chaos, Golu, Prince, and Anoop tried to flee the scene, but Imran was surrounded by Arvind and his companions and shot, say police. The bullet struck his jaw and passed through his head, killing him on the spot. Eyewitnesses have told police that they saw the assailants fleeing the scene on two bikes after the shooting.
Locals rushed Imran to Birla Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The victim was initially identified as Prince from a bag found at the crime scene. Police called the number on the bag and realized Prince Khare was alive. Prince was brought in for questioning by the police, where he provided a detailed account of the incident.
Footage from nearby CCTV cameras revealed a group of approximately 10 to 12 boys engaged in a heated argument at the intersection. Unfortunately, the nighttime footage made identification challenging. However, the presence of Prince and Imran at the scene was confirmed.
According to Murar police, Imran had no prior disputes with anyone and became an unintended victim in a confrontation with a friend. An eyewitness, Dilip Kumar Rajak, recounted the harrowing event. He said that he saw six youths on two bikes attacking Imran and speeding away. Kumar, who works at Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia's Delhi bungalow, helped take Imran to hospital but he couldn't be saved. tnn
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