Chandannagar Commissionerate police have arrested three men in connection with the murders of two app-cab drivers in Kolkata and adjoining areas, alleging that the killings were linked to an organised attempt to steal and sell vehicles. The arrests followed the recovery of evidence in the murder of a driver found near Dankuni and a police claim that the same accused later killed another driver in Entally.
The first victim, identified as 58-year-old Ramjesh Kari of Bankra in North Dum Dum, was found unconscious near Bhadua More beside Delhi Road in the Dankuni police station area on the morning of October 5. He was taken to a hospital in Srirampur, where doctors declared him dead. His legs were tied with nylon rope, and the post-mortem examination indicated that he had been strangled.
According to Chandannagar police, investigators examined CCTV footage and other leads before detaining three suspects. Two of them, identified as Mohammad Monirul Gazi and Sheikh Shahadat, are residents of Madhyamgram. The third, Mohammad Ariyan Molla, is from Nimta. The investigation was led by the commissionerate’s detective department under Detective Chief Rupantar Sengupta.
Police said the three suspects hired Kari’s vehicle from the airport area on the night of October 4 while posing as passengers. They allegedly did not use the app to book the ride but made a direct arrangement with the driver. When the vehicle reached a relatively isolated stretch beside the highway, one suspect sitting in the rear allegedly grabbed the driver by the neck. Another suspect, seated beside the driver, is alleged to have pulled the handbrake and stopped the car.
The suspects then allegedly moved the driver from the driving seat, tied his legs inside the moving vehicle and abandoned him near Bhadua More in an unconscious condition. Police sources said the accused told investigators that they intended to sell the vehicle in an illicit car market. They allegedly drove it to Beniapukur but abandoned it after prospective buyers refused to purchase the car without documents and because it did not have enough fuel.
Police suspect that the failed operation was followed by an attempt targeting another app-cab driver, Bhagwan Prasad Gupta. Gupta was found dead inside a locked vehicle on DC Dey Road in the Entally police station area on Wednesday morning. His legs were also tied, and the post-mortem examination indicated that he too had been strangled.
The similarity in the two cases led investigators examining the Dankuni murder to suspect a connection with the Entally death. Chandannagar police said the three accused eventually admitted during questioning on Friday night that they were involved in the Entally murder. The reason they did not take away Gupta’s vehicle remains unclear, according to the report.
Police have informed the Kolkata Police about the alleged connection. Investigators are questioning the accused to establish how the Entally killing took place and to determine whether more people were involved in the suspected vehicle-theft network. A court on Friday granted five days of police custody for the three arrested men.
