A political discussion among passengers and the driver in a vehicle took a shocking turn when the latter, allegedly enraged over one of the passengers praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, pushed him out of the jeep and crushed him to death in the state's Mirzapur district.
The driver, identified as Amjad, a resident of Chanbey in the district, was arrested, police sources said on Tuesday.
Police said that the incident happened near Mahokhar in the district on Monday, when the victim, identified as Rajesh Dhar Dubey, was returning home after attending a wedding ceremony.
Police sources said that Rajesh Dhar and some other passengers were engaged in a heated political discussion while travelling in the jeep. During the discussion, Rajesh heaped praise on Modi and Adityanath while the driver sharply criticised them and also allegedly used "objectionable" words against them.
Sources said that the driver got so much enraged over the praising of Modi and Yogi that he pushed Rajesh out of the vehicle. Rajesh got hold of the side mirror of the vehicle and tried to cling to it but the driver sped the vehicle and as a result he was trapped under the jeep and crushed to death.
Angry locals later blocked traffic on the Prayagraj-Mirzapur state highway in protest over the incident.
Amjad, who had fled from the spot after the incident, was later arrested from his native village.
Police officials said in Mirzapur that they were trying to verify the claims of the passengers. ''A case of murder has been registered against the driver. We are trying to ascertain the facts,'' a senior police official said.
Published 13 June 2023, 10:01 IST