Uber Driver Absconding After Being Charged With Culpable Homicide

An Uber driver in Bengaluru has been at large since his friend killed two people while driving his cab.

An Uber app screenshot used for representation. 

(Photo: Reuters)

An Uber driver, A Suresh, has been absconding after he was charged with culpable homicide, police sources say. Suresh was charged after his friend, Saravana M, was arrested for killing two people while driving Suresh’s cab in a rash manner.

Saravana did not have a driving license and was driving Suresh’s cab with the latter’s permission. The cab was registered at Vellore district in Tamil Nadu.

The driver (Suresh) was supposed to be on duty on the day of the incident. He had given the Uber-owned cab as well as his mobile phone to Saravana. On investigation, we found out that A Suresh had similarly given the cab to many of his other friends previously

Abhishek Goyal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) traffic, East Bengaluru

On 14 October, Saravana M fatally ran over two people on the elevated Hosur Flyover near a Shell petrol pump in Bommanahalli, Bengaluru. The incident took place at 12:30 pm, however, it was reported over an hour later, at 1:45 pm, at the Madiwala police station.

The police identified the deceased as Zakir Hussain (42) and Mohammad Fakruddin (42). The two were riding a Pulsar motorbike when they were hit by Suresh’s cab. Saravana was arrested by the police soon after. The High Court has rejected his bail plea and remanded him to judicial custody.

Police officials have been unable to locate Suresh since the incident. “The investigation is in process. We are trying to find out more details from his family and relatives,” police sources said.

As part of the their efforts to locate A Suresh, Bengaluru police are reaching out to people on social media.

Both A Suresh and his friend Saravana M have been charged under section 304 for culpable homicide and section 279 for rash driving as per the Indian Penal Code (IPC).