Mangaluru: A pickup truck driver has been arrested on a murder charge after allegedly chasing and deliberately ramming his vehicle into a scooter carrying two youths following an altercation at Boliyar in the Konaje police station limits on Monday. Both youths died of their injuries.

The accused, identified as Hafeez alias Appi, allegedly ran over Mohammed Zunaid, 23, and Mohammed Afraz, 23, both residents of Mangaluru, following a dispute over a mutual friend’s mobile phone, according to preliminary police investigations.

Mangaluru City Police Commissioner CH Sudheer Kumar Reddy said initial questioning suggested that an argument over the mobile phone had escalated into a physical altercation between the accused and the two youths.

“The basic interrogation revealed this. It needs to be confirmed and corroborated with other witnesses and circumstances,” the commissioner said. He added that the accused would be produced before a magistrate.

According to a complaint filed by Ismail, Zunaid’s father and a resident of Ukkuda in Kinya village, his son had left home on his scooter with Afraz on Monday.

Later that evening, Ismail received a call from his colleague, Abbas KM, informing him that Zunaid had met with an accident and had been taken to a hospital.

Ismail rushed to the hospital and found his son suffering from severe head injuries and unable to speak. Doctors later declared Zunaid dead. Afraz, who had also sustained serious injuries, subsequently succumbed to them.

The complaint stated that when Ismail visited the accident spot, he found the damaged scooter lying on the road and a nearby electricity pole broken. The pickup truck was parked on the opposite side of the road, with damage to its front bumper and mudguard.

Citing information from local residents, the complaint stated that an argument had broken out between the two youths and Hafeez at Ranthadka Cross before escalating into a physical altercation.

Zunaid and Afraz subsequently left on their scooter towards Mudipu, the complaint stated. It alleged that the pickup driver chased them and rammed his vehicle into the scooter at high speed, causing the fatal injuries.

The accused allegedly abandoned the pickup truck at the scene and fled.

The Konaje police have registered a case under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with murder.