Delhi Police arrest two men for Ola cabbie’s murder
Police said the trio had booked Mohammad Yusuf’s cab from Sarai Kale Khan to Jatoli Thoon village in Rajasthan on August 9. They later strangled him and dumped his body in a canal in Mathura in order to rob him of his money and car.
Nineteen days after the body of a 26-year-old cab driver, attached to cab aggregator Ola, was found in a canal in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura, the Delhi Police on Tuesday said they have arrested two men in connection with the crime. A minor has also been detained.
Police said the trio had booked Mohammad Yusuf’s cab from Sarai Kale Khan to Jatoli Thoon village in Rajasthan on August 9. They later strangled him and dumped his body in a canal in Mathura in order to rob him of his money and car.
The arrested men were identified as 28-year-old Jitesh Kumar from Haridwar in Uttarakhand and Brij Mohan,23, from Agra in Uttar Pradesh. Police have seized the Ola cab’s keys, Yusuf’s mobile phone, one knife used in the crime and the mobile phone which was used for booking the cab.
Deputy commissioner of police (North) Nupur Prasad said Yusuf’s father Mohammad Islaim had filed a man missing complaint after Yusuf failed to return home on August 9. A case was registered and, during the investigation, Yusuf’s cab was found in Agra on August 11. Two days later, Yusuf’s body was found in Mathura.
“We collected details of the mobile number used to book the cab. The last location of the cellphone was in Mathura. We caught Jitesh through technical surveillance. His arrest led us to the other two suspects – Mohan and the minor boy,” DCP Prasad said.
The arrested men revealed that they had purchased a rope and knife from a shop in Haryana’s Ballabhgarh on their way to their destination.
“Then, Jitesh strangled the driver. They cut his seat belt using the knife, drove the cab to Mathura and threw his body in the canal. The cab’s navigation system started beeping while they were fleeing. They tried to dismantle it but abandoned the cab and fled after seeing a police patrolling team,” Prasad said.
“We congratulate the Delhi police on the swift action taken in arresting the suspects related to this case. We will continue to support them for any further assistance related to this case,” said a spokesperson for Ola.