Pickup driver in SG's death did not have licence

The council employee who drove a pickup that hit and killed R. Maduvvari Council Secretary General Ahmed Aslam did not have a valid driver's licence, police and the council confirmed on Tuesday.

The accident took place in Maduvvari on Saturday afternoon when Aslam got crushed between the pickup and a wall while the council pickup was being reversed into the garage. He passed away at R. Ungoofaaru Hospital while undergoing further treatment.

At the time, the residents of Maduvvari had speculated that the local employee of the council, who was driving the pickup, did not have a license to drive a pickup.

According to information obtained from the Maduvvari council and the police by Atoll Times on Tuesday, the pickup driver does not have a licence in that vehicle category.

When asked why an unlicensed person had driven the council's pickup, Maduvvari Council President Mohamed Sodhiq only said that the police should clarify the matter as it was a case under investigation. However, Sodhiq also confirmed that the man did not have a valid license.

A police spokesman told Atoll Times on Tuesday that further investigation is underway. The driver of the pickup did not have a license but was not arrested, police said. 

Aslam, who had earlier served in the Home Ministry, and is survived by a wife and three children when he passed away.