Begumpet cab driver murder: Maharashtra gang held for allegedly stealing cab

Police have solved the murder of Begumpet cab driver Rajshekhar, whose body was found at Rudraram in Patancheru. A four-member gang from Maharashtra allegedly posed as passengers, took control of his cab, killed him and fled with the vehicle.

Hyderabad: The police have solved the murder case of Rajshekar (35), a cab driver from Begumpet, who was found dead at Rudraram in Patancheru.

The investigation revealed that a four-member gang from Maharashtra allegedly planned the murder to steal his cab. Rajshekhar, who was working as a cab driver and providing transportation services to employees of a software company, had gone missing after taking passengers in his vehicle.

His family had lodged a missing complaint at Begumpet police station on September 10. His body was later found at Rudraram on September 12.

According to the information available, the suspects allegedly booked Rajshekhar’s cab by posing as passengers. After the vehicle crossed Patancheru, the gang members allegedly forced the driver to change seats and took control of the car. They then attacked Rajshekhar and strangled him with a wire. Police suspect that he was also assaulted on the face before being killed.

After murdering him, the gang allegedly took the cab and abandoned Rajshekhar’s body on the roadside near Rudraram before fleeing. The cab was subsequently traced nearly 50 km away from the spot where his body was found, near NH-65 at Budhera in Sangareddy district.

During the initial investigation, police found beer bottles and biryani packets inside the vehicle. Investigation officials also questioned more than a dozen cab drivers who were acquainted with Rajshekhar as part of efforts to establish his movements and identify the suspects.

The investigation subsequently established that the killing was allegedly part of a plan to steal the cab.

Police have taken the suspects into custody and are probing their previous criminal activities, the exact sequence of events and whether they were involved in similar incidents elsewhere.