Violence against taxi drivers

The scale of violence addressing the problem Dorothy Gunnett Mohammed Arshad

Gian Chand Bajar: Murdered with His Own Taxi

Gian Chand Bajar, a 71-year-old self-employed taxi driver, was killed on 23 May 2007 in St. Benedict's Avenue, Gravesend, Kent. His attacker, 21-year-old Luke Aujila, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 20 years.

Sequence of Events

Early on the evening of 23 May 2007, Aujila stole and drank a bottle of Bacardi. He then got involved in a disturbance in Tooley Street, Gravesend. From there, Bajar picked him up around 10pm, driving him to St Benedict's Avenue. When asked to pay the fare, Aujila refused. Both men got out of the car. Aujila punched Bajar, knocking him to the ground, and then kicked him. He got into the driver's seat of Bajar's Skoda Octavia. In fleeing the scene, he deliberately ran over Bajar without attempting to slow down or avoid the injured man. Aujila drove the car to a service road where he set it alight so as to destroy evidence.

Witnesses rendered aid to Bajar, but he later succumbed to his head injuries. He suffered 39 separate injuries, among them fractures to his ribs, pelvis, a broken hip, and broken leg. Alan Kent, prosecuting, said "According to one witness, Mr Bajar tried to get up but was unable to do so. According to another witness, he was unable to move at all."

Arrest and Sentencing

Aujila was arrested the next day. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, claiming he was so drunk he didn't see Bajar in the road. The jury disagreed and found him guilty of murder. He had 12 previous convictions, including assault on several police officers and attempted vehicle theft. In sentencing him to life imprisonment, Judge Andrew Patience QC said, "What you did was cold, callous and cruel. In short it was utterly wicked."

Future Implications

Bajar's murder secured funding for all Gravesend taxis to be fitted with in-car CCTV cameras. In September 2009, CCTV footage from these cameras was crucial in securing convictions for an assault on a taxi driver. Stephen Richardson and Gavin Clark were sentenced to 18 months in prison for assaulting driver Steven West. Though the police were unable to identify the men from witness statements, they used in-car CCTV footage to arrest, charge, and convict them. Judge Andrew Patience QC, again presiding, said, "The CCTV in the cab was installed as the result of the murder of one of his colleagues, and thank goodness it was because you pleaded guilty as a result of the evidence."

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