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Murder charge over cabbie’s death
A MAN has been charged with murder following the death of a Bedford taxi driver.
Daniel Rogers, 26, of The Cloisters, Bedford, appeared before Luton Magistrates Court on Friday (February 3).
Mehar Dhariwal, 61 (pictured) of Hillgrounds, Kempston died on Sunday (January 29) after being attacked in St Peters Street, Bedford where he worked for the AGS Cars taxi firm a week earlier.
This week his collegues and family paid tribute to Mr Dhariwal.
In a prepared family statement his wife, sons and extended family said: “He was a real people person who loved to be out and about in the community and we have been overwhelmed by the amount of people who have stopped us to pass on their condolences.
“Our dad loved his family more than anything in the world. He leaves behind a loving wife, three sons, three daughter-in-laws and four grandchildren who will find it difficult to cope and who will miss him very much.
“Dad adored his job as a taxi driver and although he did not need to continue working, he just wanted to be out and about. He would often do the school runs and loved working with those with learning difficulties and disabilities. He came home numerous times with drawings that had been done especially for him and it made him so proud.”
A funeral date has yet to be set for Mr Dhariwal, but cab drivers and opperators at all taxi firms in Bedford will stop working for and hour before and after the service as a mark of respect and protest.
Fayaz Alhaq, manager of AGS Cars, paid tribute to the grandfather who had worked for the firm for around eight years.
He said: “He was always smiling and there was never an angry word said in the whole time I worked with him.
“The only way to describe him is someone you wanted around you all the time. He has a family and grandchildren who are all devastated.”
He added: “We have lost a great person. Forget about the driving side of it, he was just a great person. We’ve had all the drivers and controllers in tears and it makes it even worse because he was like a family member to us all.”
And Mr Alhaq warned that assaults on taxi drivers are not a rarity in Bedford.
He said: “Bedford is coming to a stage where drivers are being attacked and it was just a matter of time. Unfortunately Mr Dhariwal was the first person to die in Bedford.”
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Monday 28 May 2012
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