The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Four youths held for murdering taxi drivers

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Saturday, Oct 20, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Four youths held for murdering taxi drivers

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: The Rajarajeshwarinagar police have arrested four youths who had allegedly murdered two taxi drivers in the past two months and made away with a car and a van.

Posing as tourists, the accused had hired the vehicles from two car rental agencies in Chandra Layout and Basavanagudi police station limits and murdered the drivers, the police said. The arrested are C. Ravi (25), a cab driver with a call centre; Santosh (20), a painter; and Babu (19), a mason. The other accused is a 17-year-old and a first year diploma student. All of them are residents of Ittamadu in 3rd Stage, Banashankari.

The police said that on October 6, the four hired a car from Sathya Tours and Travels in Chandra Layout to go to Male Mahadeshwara Hills. On the way, they drugged the car driver Harish (28). After he fell unconscious, they strangled him and threw his body into the Cauvery, near Belakavadi Bridge. They also robbed him of cash and a mobile phone. The accused were using the car after changing its number plate, the police said. In the other case, on August 8 the accused hired a van from Sri Vidya Travels in Basavanagudi. After forcing the driver Aruna (23) to consume alcohol, they strangled him and threw his body at Shivanasamudra. Subsequently, they changed the number plate of the van and sold it, the police said. The police are on the lookout for three absconding members of the gang, Mani, Raghavendra and Ramesh, and also the van they had disposed of. Sources in the police told The Hindu they were able to trace the accused on the basis of a telephone number. The accused had called Sri Vidya Travels from a particular number. After obtaining the call details of the said number, the police traced one of the accused.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Gopal B. Hosur told presspersons on Friday that they had directed all the travel agencies in the city to get addresses and phone numbers of the people hiring vehicles. Besides, the agency staff should call the drivers at regular intervals to find out their location, he said.

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