Audi crash: Impostor Qadri’s case pursuer files complaint against truck driver

Raj Kumar, who hails from Bareilly, is already in dock as he is the case pursuer of Qadri and has been summoned by Ghaziabad crime branch to record his statements.

In yet another twist to the Audi car crash case, Raj Kumar, who had certified Syed Imtiyaz Qadri as ‘Ishaq’ of Bareilly, has filed a police complaint against Qadri, his family and truck driver Ishaq.

Four persons were killed when an overspeeding Audi Q7 hit an autorickshaw on the Hindon canal road on the intervening night of January 27-28. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Ishaq’s driving licence was allegedly used by Qadri to obtain bail from a Ghaziabad court.

The complaint came to light after Qadri, who claimed to be the man driving the Audi that rammed an autorickshaw on January 28 in Ghaziabad killing four people, was exposed as an imposter.

Raj Kumar, who hails from Bareilly, is already in dock as he is the case pursuer of Qadri and has been summoned by Ghaziabad crime branch to record his statements.

Qadri allegedly used the driving licence of his former co-tenant Ishaq Ahmad, a truck driver, and appeared as Ishaq Ahmad before a Ghaziabad court to obtain bail in the Audi case.

“We received a complaint from the district court (Bareilly) in which one Rajkumar, resident of Nawabganj, has alleged that he was manhandled by Imtiyaz Qadri and his family and also by Ishaq Ahmad and his family members on February 8,” said sub-inspector Bachhu Singh Yadav, in charge of Rithora police post of Nawabganj, Bareilly.

“I have recorded the statement of Ishaq Ahmed. We will send the reply to the court after recording the statement of the other accused persons,” Yadav said.

Ghaziabad Audi Q7 Crash: Real Ishaq Ahmed says he was framed, files police complaint

Truck driver Ishaq Ahmad said he was shocked to hear about the complaint.

“I was coming back home when the police summoned me to the police post. The police showed me a complaint filed by Raj Kumar against me and my relatives and also against Qadri and his family. He has alleged that we beat him up on February 8,” Ishaq said.

“This is done only to harass me in the Audi case as I am to record statements before the Ghaziabad crime branch. Raj Kumar is the case pursuer of Qadri who surrendered before court misusing my driving licence,” Ishaq said.

Audi crash: Impostor’s aide feigns ignorance over his identity, death of four

Last week, a team of crime branch officials had gone in search of Raj Kumar to Bareilly but his house was found locked. The team had left a notice, requiring him to appear at Ghaziabad for recording his statement.

“Neither Raj Kumar or the other man, who gave sureties for Qadri’s bail, has appeared despite notices,” an official from the Ghaziabad crime branch said.

The Audi belongs to neurosurgeon Dr Manish Rawat who works at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. The Audi hit an autorickshaw near Hindon canal in Ghaziabad on the intervening night of January 27 and 28, killing four persons on the spot.

The doctor fled the spot but turned up before the police a week later, claiming that he was present in the car but it was driven by his driver ‘Ishaq Ahmad’.

On January 31, ‘Ishaq Ahmad’ surrendered before a Ghaziabad court and was granted bail. When an HT team reached the address mentioned in surrender application, it found that ‘Ishaq Ahmad’ was a truck driver who did not appear before the Ghaziabad court.

Ishaq Ahmad identified the person who surrendered before the court as Syed Imtiyaz Qadri, his former co-tenant. Later, before a police raid on February 5, Qadri and his family fled their house at Peerwada and are still not traceable.

Police officers privy to the probe said that Qadri was in Ghaziabad for the first time on January 30 and January 31 — when he surrendered in court — and reached Bareilly on the night of January 31.

Qadri’s landlady Shabnam has already told police that Qadri was in Bareilly when the accident took place in Ghaziabad. She had also told investigators that Qadri’s wife Ayesha told her that her husband was paid to appear as the driver in the case.