When a Minor Fender-Bender Explodes into a Nightmare: The Senseless Loss of a Life in Bengaluru

It started, as these things often do, with something utterly trivial. A slight graze on a busy Bengaluru road, the kind of everyday mishap that usually elicits a frustrated sigh, perhaps a quick exchange of words, and then, life moves on. But for Mohammad Rizwan, a 24-year-old trying to make an honest living as a delivery agent, that innocuous bump on the evening of October 12th would tragically, unfathomably, mark the end of his journey.

He was just doing his job, you know? Navigating the city’s notoriously chaotic traffic, delivering food, perhaps dreaming of getting home after a long shift. Around 10:30 PM, near HBR Layout, his bike, perhaps just barely, made contact with a car. Not a crash, mind you, but a touch. And that, in a flash, was enough to ignite a firestorm of rage in the couple occupying the vehicle. A husband and wife, later identified as Shafique and his wife, felt slighted, offended by this minor incident. And then, well, things just spiraled.

Instead of a calm discussion, or even a heated argument that eventually dissipates, what followed was a pursuit. A chase through the streets, the couple relentlessly hounding Rizwan, determined, it seems, to exact some form of retribution for what was, honestly, a non-event. They cornered him, eventually. Think about that for a moment: two adults, chasing down a young man over a minor vehicular touch. The sheer, terrifying disproportion of it all is hard to stomach.

And then, the unthinkable. The argument, already boiling over, escalated beyond any rational human comprehension. Shafique, in a fit of inexplicable fury, pulled out a knife. Five times, the police would later confirm, he stabbed Rizwan. Five times. A young man, barely into his twenties, trying to earn his bread, bleeding out on a Bengaluru street, all because of a moment of shared urban friction that twisted into murderous anger.

Bystanders, one can only imagine, were horrified. Rizwan, critically injured, was rushed to a nearby private hospital. But the damage, alas, was too severe. He succumbed to his wounds, leaving behind a family shattered, a life unlived, and a chilling testament to the unchecked fury that can grip individuals in a moment of road rage. The CCTV footage, stark and unforgiving, captured the entire horrific sequence, leaving no room for doubt about the sheer brutality of the act.

The Hennur police, moving swiftly, registered a case under Indian Penal Code Section 302—murder—and apprehended Shafique and his wife. Justice, one hopes, will follow. But it won't bring Mohammad Rizwan back. And it won't erase the stark, chilling reminder that sometimes, the smallest spark of anger can, in a heartbeat, extinguish a life.