Man driving SUV shoots truck driver over honking held

Noida: A 47-year-old man driving a Toyota Fortuner allegedly fired at a 26-year-old truck driver over road rage in Sector 63, Noida, on Friday around 2am, police said, adding that the prime suspect and his worker have been arrested and a case of attempt to murder has been registered.

The critically injured truck driver, a resident of Badaun city, is underdoing treatment at the Safdarjung hospital, said police.

Police identified the suspects as Vikas Kumar, 47, originally from Bulandshahr who runs milk business in Jaipur and resides in Noida, Sector 71, and Lalit Kumar, 42, from Ambedkar Nagar. The victim was identified as Lalu Prasad, a resident of Badaun.

“On Thursday, I and my fellow truck driver, Lalu Prasad, had come to load snacks in two separate trucks at a factory in Noida, Sector 67. We stopped at a petrol pump for diesel. Around 2am on Friday, a Toyota Fortuner was parked in the middle of the road. When Prasad honked for a way, the SUV driver got angry and verbally abused him,” said Surjeet, 32, who was in another truck behind Prasad’s.

“Later, he (SUV driver) asked us to reverse the trucks. But he moved his vehicle close to the driver-side window, and irked by honking he pulled out a pistol and shot at Prasad,” he added.

As Surjeet alighted to help Prasad, the suspect and his friend fled the scene in their vehicle. After police was alerted, Prasad was finally admitted to a Delhi hospital. “Doctors told me that there is very little chance of his recovery,” he said.

Police formed a team and arrested the suspects from the Noida-Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad (FNG) Expressway. “Vikas, who was driving the SUV at the time of the incident, fired at Prasad from his licensed pistol. The probe found that on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, Vikas and his worker Lalit were en route to Haridwar,” said Sector 63 SHO Avdhesh Pratap Singh.

The incident following heated arguments was also recorded on a CCTV camera footage, and on the complaint of Surjeet a case under BNS sections for attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, intentional insult was registered. A probe is underway, said police, adding that victim Prasad has his wife and a 4-year-old son in his family.