Taxi driver, wife and son held in connection with W Delhi murder

New DelhiA 59-year-old private taxi driver, his wife and their son were arrested in connection with the murder of an unidentified man, who was found dead near the entrance of a girls’ school in west Delhi’s Naraina Vihar two days ago, police said on Wednesday

New Delhi

The man was held for murder, while his family members were held for helping him concealing his crime. (Representative photo)

A 59-year-old private taxi driver, his wife and their son were arrested in connection with the murder of an unidentified man, who was found dead near the entrance of a girls’ school in west Delhi’s Naraina Vihar two days ago, police said on Wednesday.

Police said that the victim was picked up by the driver, identified as Rajender, in Gurugram and was reportedly inebriated or under the influence of a narcotic, due to which he could not give directions and refused to pay the driver, leading to a physical altercation.

A police officer aware of the matter, requesting anonymity, said, “When Rajender asked him to give him the pair of shoes he was wearing if he had no money to pay, the passenger removed the shoes and his clothes, and told him to take them all. Their altercation soon turned violent during which Rajender allegedly attacked him with a stone and a flower pot lying around. The passenger suffered serious head injuries and died on the spot.”

As per the sequence of events shared by the police, the incident took place in the early hours of Monday, when he was returning to his residence in west Delhi’s Naraina. The passenger asked to be dropped in west Delhi, but upon entering Delhi, he reportedly could not give directions and asked the driver to drop him at the location where he was heading.

The first officer cited above said, “Rajender claimed that he had asked the man where he wanted to be dropped. The man asked him about his destination. When Rajender told him that he was returning home, the man asked him to drop him in the same area. After they reached Naraina Vihar, Rajender asked him for the drop location. The man did not give any specific location and asked him to continue driving, to which the driver refused saying his residence was nearby.”

The officer said that after the man fell, the driver panicked, called his son and wife and they left the scene after collecting the man’s clothes. They drove towards Paschim Vihar and threw the clothes into a drain before returning home.

Around 7am, a passerby spotted the body and informed the police control room. During inspection, the personnel found two names — “Anand” and “Renu” — tattooed on the victim’s left forearm. However, no identification documents were found. As the death appeared to be homicidal, a case of murder was registered.

The senior officer cited above said, “Through technical investigation and scanning of CCTV cameras, investigators identified the suspect and arrested him, after he confessed to killing him. The driver’s wife and son were also arrested after their roles in the disappearance of the victim’s clothes were established. The clothes were recovered from the drain. Further probe is on to identify the victim.”