Missing auto rickshaw driver’s body found in water plant, family says murder

The probe so far has revealed that the man died of drowning, there were no external injury marks on his body, an investigating officer said.

The body of a 30-year-old auto rickshaw driver, who had been missing since Monday, was found floating on the water at Delhi Jal Board (DJB)’s water treatment plant in east Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar on Thursday afternoon, police said.

The man’s family has alleged he was murdered, police said. (Representative photo)

The probe so far has revealed that the man died of drowning, there were no external injury marks on his body, an investigating officer said.

The man’s family has alleged he was murdered, police said, adding that they have initiated inquest proceeding under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure(CrPC).

The man’s family made the allegations after seeing a CCTV camera footage in which the auto rickshaw driver was seen in a scuffle with another auto driver in the New Ashok Nagar area on Monday night. In the CCTV clip, two men on a motorcycle and a scooter are seen intervening, after which they all leave on their respective vehicles while the autorickshaw driver (deceased) is seen walking alone on the road.

Deputy commissioner of police (east) Jasmeet Singh said that on Thursday afternoon, a guard at the Delhi Jal Board’s water treatment plant in New Ashok Nagar informed the police about a man’s body floating on the water in the treatment plant.

Police identified the body as that of the auto rickshaw driver.

“It’s a case of drowning and not murder. We are following the legal procedure,”said DCP Singh.

Police said the man lived with his parents and three siblings in Kondli. His missing report was filed at the New Ashok Nagar police station on Tuesday. In the complaint, the family mentioned that he left home on Monday after the owner of the auto-rickshaw, which he drove, asked him to meet at Kondli bus stop with the auto driver’s uniform.

“ The man did not return home thereafter and the family members could not contact him since his phone was switched off. The next day the family lodged his missing complaint,” a police officer associated with the case said, requesting anonymity.