Passenger confesses to killing cab driver
A passenger has confessed to murdering an online cab service driver after an altercation.
The suspected murderer reportedly told the police that he had got enraged over getting late in visiting a girl.
The suspect, Muhammad Tahir, was arrested two days back on identification of a friend of his.
He revealed during police interrogation that the altercation started after he asked the victim, Muhammad Ali, to drive faster because he was getting late. After he repeatedly pressured the driver to drive faster, the latter asked him to get off the car.
Police officials said Tahir had confessed that he had shot the driver after getting infuriated. He said he also stole valuables from the victim and fled from the place.
An investigator said the suspect had stolen valuables to mislead the investigation and had gone into hiding.
He had booked the ride with a friend named Mohsin.
After the victim went missing, his family reported to the police that Ali, a resident of Baghbanpura, had picked a passenger from Shalimar area and his phone had gone off after some time.
A few days later, his body was found in Rewaz Garden.
The police traced the vehicle and checked the data of the online taxi service. From the record, they came to know that the last ride had been booked by Mohsin.
Police took Mohsin into custody and interrogated him. He revealed during the interrogation that had not travelled through the service. He said he had booked the ride for his friend Tahir.
When police searched for Mohsin, he had gone into hiding.
His mysterious disappearance made the police suspicious. They reportedly coerced his family and after efforts for some days, the suspect was taken into custody.
He confessed to the crime and said he had killed the driver over a minor dispute during the ride.
The suspect does not have any previous crime record, police sources said.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Muhammad Adil, an online taxi driver, said they often experienced a sense of insecurity while driving the vehicles as the operators did not give priority to their safety and problems. He said that the company policies were focused on the customers and the drivers remained under pressure to avoid their complaints.
DIG Investigations Lahore Shariq Jamal announced the arrest of the killer in a media talk.
He also revealed the arrest of a man suspected of sexually assaulting his granddaughter.
The officer said the arrested man, Muhammad Akram, was suspected of assaulting the two-year-old girl in Mughalpura. He had fled to Vehari district. A case was registered against him and the police arrested him from Melsi.
The officer also announced that three suspected robbers had been arrested by Sattokatla police. The arrested suspects wete identified as Javed alias Jaidi, Haider Ali and Farooq. They had looted valuables, including mobile phones and cash from many families at a restaurant. The police claimed to have recovered Rs400,000 cash, motorcycles, 12 mobile phones and illegal weapons from them.
Three other suspects involved in a robbery of Rs4 million were arrested by investigations police Mochi Gate. They had reportedly robbed a trading company several days back. The police claimed to have recovered Rs2.2 million from them.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2021.