Three men have been arrested in connection with the alleged murders of two app-cab drivers in Dankuni and Entally within three days, as Kolkata and Chandannagar police investigate whether the cases are linked to an interstate vehicle theft network.
Mohammad Monirul Gaji, 30, Sheikh Sahadat, 24, and Mohammad Ariyan Molla, 24, were arrested from Madhyamgram and Nimta on the northern fringes of the city in a joint operation by the two police commissionerates, according to officers quoted by The Telegraph.
Police said CCTV footage from both cases showed three men. The two drivers were allegedly robbed before being killed, although investigators are still examining the exact motive and whether other members were involved.
The first case was reported early on October 5, when police found a man lying unconscious beside Delhi Road near Bhadua More in Dankuni. His hands and legs were tied with nylon ropes. He was taken to a state hospital in Serampore, Hooghly, where doctors declared him dead.
Investigators later identified the victim as Ramjas Kauri, 58, a resident of an area near Dum Dum airport and an app-cab driver. Police traced the vehicle to a location near Beniapukur in Calcutta.
According to the investigation, three men had hired Kauri’s cab near the airport on the night of October 4 without making a booking through the app. Police allege that when the vehicle reached a deserted stretch near Dankuni, one man strangled the driver from behind, another pulled the handbrake and the third removed him from the cab.
The second case was reported on October 7, when a 44-year-old man was found dead inside a locked app cab on DC Dey Road in Entally. His legs were tied and his face had injury marks. Police identified him as Bhagwan Prasad Gupta, a resident of Doltala near Madhyamgram. His mobile phone and cash were missing.
An officer of the Chandannagar Police Commissionerate said investigators had reasons to believe that the three arrested men were involved in the murders. The officer added that police were yet to identify other possible members of the group, if any.
The investigation is also examining whether the alleged offenders targeted app cabs to acquire vehicles for sale to interstate gangs. Police have not established that motive, and officers said they were still trying to determine whether the two cases formed part of a wider vehicle theft operation.
The cases highlight the exposure of app-cab drivers who accept passengers outside platform-based booking systems and operate across Kolkata’s expanding metropolitan edge. In the first case, police said the passengers had hired the vehicle directly near the airport rather than through the app. The investigation will now determine the wider network, if any, behind the alleged attacks and whether additional arrests follow.
