Rogue auto driver 'kills' man after 'failed robbery attempt'

A 25-year-old man was allegedly killed today by an autorickshaw driver who crushed him under the wheels of his vehicle after a failed attempt to rob the deceased and his brother near the Akshardham temple flyover here, police said.
The deceased, Hafeez (25), and his brother Nafeez (24), both casual labourers from Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, had boarded the autorickshaw from Anand Vihar bus stand to go to Badarpur. They had come to Delhi in search of work.
Nafeez claimed to the police that the incident was a fallout of a failed robbery attempt. However, the Rs 1,150 and the mobile phones the brothers were carrying were found to be intact, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Omvir Singh, adding that they were probing if there was a fight over the auto fare.

"The auto driver initially demanded Rs 350 but later, agreed on Rs 200. There was another passenger in the auto when we boarded it," Nafeez told reporters.
He claimed that another man boarded the auto subsequently. Initially, he sat with the driver in front but later, came and sat in the passenger's seat.
"We were sitting in the middle with two unknown men on either side. Suddenly, one of them took out a knife and asked us to hand over our money and mobile phones to them," said Nafeez.

He claimed that a scuffle ensued and the accused threw his brother out of the auto.

Hafeez was crushed by the rear wheels of the vehicle and he was thrown out of it around 50 metres from the spot where his brother was killed, said Nafeez.
"I ran to save him but he was already dead," he said.
Police said Nafeez did not have much of an idea about Delhi roads and could not recall the route followed by the driver.
The police are trying to collect CCTV footage from the area to identify the accused.
This was the second visit of the brothers to Delhi.