Mumbai: 33-year-old Bhandup resident dies in hit-and-run; police hunt for tempo driver

Sajid Azmi. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

A 33-year-old Bhandup resident, Sajid Azmi, died in a hit-and-run accident on Tuesday near the Mangatram Petrol Pump area on Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg. Azmi was riding triple seat on a scooty with his close friends, Shahrukh Chaudhary and Zaid Shaikh, both residents of Pathan Colony in Bhandup, when they were struck by a tempo.

According to Chaudhary, the complainant in the case, the trio often met after dinner for a walk or a short ride. On Tuesday, Chaudhary spotted his friends near the petrol pump, and they went for ice cream before heading home.

Around 12:45 am on Wednesday, as they reached the petrol pump area, Chaudhary, who was riding the scooty, noticed a white tempo approaching. Realizing there was no one in the driver's seat, he panicked and jumped off to the left, while Shaikh, the pillion rider, leapt to the right.

Meanwhile, Azmi stumbled and fell near the scooty as his leg got stuck near the trunk of the vehicle. The tempo, which rolled towards the scooty, ran over Azmi's neck, crushing him. His friends immediately rushed him to Bhandup CritiCare Hospital in Kokan Nagar, where Dr. Pramod Thorawade declared him dead at 1:05 am.

The Bhandup Police have launched a manhunt to locate the tempo driver who left the vehicle unattended.