Call taxi driver murdered, body dumped by roadside

CHENNAI: Police have launched a hunt for a gang that murdered a call taxi driver and disposed his body on the roadside in Chengelpet on early Sunday morning.

Police sources said that around 2 am, an SUV got parked on Thirukazhukundram main road, and a gang alighted from the SUV, pulled out a man and hacked him and left him by the roadside, before fleeing with the vehicle.

Onlookers who witnessed the incident alerted the police after which a team from Chengelpet Taluk police secured the man and moved him to the Chengelpet government hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Police said that his throat was slashed.

Later in the day, police ascertained the identity of the deceased as P Arjun (31), a resident of Sithalapakkam and a call taxi driver. Investigations revealed that a gang had hired his car for rent, using a popular taxi aggregating service.

He had not informed his family about his destination. Police are probing whether the previous enmity is behind the cab driver’s murder. “The victim was a local functionary of a political party. We are questioning his family members and acquaintances, ” a police official said.

A special team has been formed to trace the killers. Police are perusing CCTV footage along the route the car took to ascertain their identity and have alerted all toll gates in the vicinity.