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 killings are linked to an interstate vehicle theft network.
Mohammad Monirul Gaji, 30, Sheikh Sahadat, 24, and Mohammad Ariyan Molla, 24, were arrested in separate locations at Madhyamgram and Nimta on the northern fringes of Kolkata. The arrests followed a joint operation by the Kolkata and Chandannagar police commissionerates.
An officer of the Chandannagar Police Commissionerate said CCTV footage from both cases showed three men. The officer also said both drivers were robbed before they were killed. Police are investigating whether other members may be involved.
The first victim, 58-year-old Ramjas Kauri, was found unconscious with his hands and legs tied with nylon ropes near Bhadua More on Delhi Road in Dankuni early on October 5. He was taken to a state hospital in Serampore, Hooghly, where doctors declared him dead. Investigators later established that Kauri, who lived near Dum Dum airport, worked as an app-cab driver.
According to police, the vehicle was traced to an area near Beniapukur in central Kolkata. Investigators learnt that three men had hired the cab near the airport on the night of October 4 without making a booking through the app. The officer said that when the vehicle reached a deserted location near Dankuni, one suspect allegedly strangled Kauri from behind, another pulled the handbrake and the third removed him from the cab.
The second victim, 44-year-old Bhagwan Prasad Gupta, was found dead inside a locked app cab on DC Dey Road in Entally on October 7. His legs were tied and his face bore injury marks. Gupta, who lived in Doltala near Madhyamgram, was found to be missing his mobile phone and cash.
Police have not yet established whether the suspected group’s motive was to take control of app cabs and sell the vehicles to interstate gangs. The Chandannagar police officer said investigators were still examining that possibility. The probe is also focused on identifying any other members linked to the alleged operation.
The cases highlight the exposure of app-cab drivers who accept passengers outside platform booking systems, particularly for journeys that move from busy airport and city areas towards isolated roads. In these incidents, investigators are examining the movement of the vehicles, CCTV footage and the alleged robbery of the drivers as part of the inquiry.
The next steps in the investigation are the identification of possible associates, recovery of the missing property and clarification of the suspected vehicle-theft link. Police have not released details of charges or the accused men’s court proceedings in the supplied report.
