3 held for murder of taxi driver in Rajasthan, planned to kill more cabbies to fund lavish lifestyle

Kota (Rajasthan) Jul 31 (PTI) Three men were arrested from Madhya Pradesh for killing a taxi driver whose body was found near a railway station in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district earlier this week, officials said on Thursday.

They were also planning to target more taxi drivers to fund a lavish lifestyle, they said.

The accused were identified as Rajesh alias Rahul Jatav (21), Anil Kumar (20) and Afjal (21), all residents of Sirohi district, Madhya Pradesh. They were arrested from Soyat on Wednesday night, Deputy Superintendent of Police Harshraj Singh said.

The three was produced in court on Thursday and sent to police custody for interrogation. Two other locals accused of being involved in the killing are yet to be arrested, he said.

The taxi driver's body, aged around 25-30 years, bearing multiple injuries, was found near the railway station in Jhalawar on Monday evening.

During investigation, police found that a missing report had been filed in Bhopal for a taxi driver. Simultaneously, a vehicle matching the description of the missing taxi was spotted being sold at a low price in Teendhar area of Jhalawar, the DSP said.

The accused had been hired the taxi driver from Bhopal, Pankaj Sahu, who then travelled with him to Jhalawar, where they allegedly roped in two local accomplices and murdered him.

They strangled Sahu with a wire and injured the body with a knife to make it appear as though he was run over by a train. The accused then dumped the body near the railway tracks, robbed him of his cash and his mobile phone and fled with the car, Singh said.

The vehicle was later recovered from a local, Manish Nayak, whose role in the matter is under investigation.

Police said the accused were planning to kill another person when they were apprehended. They were allegedly targeting taxi drivers to fund a lavish lifestyle. PTI COR OZ OZ