E-challan of looted car helps solve murder of cabbie case

Jaipur: City south police arrested two men and detained three minors Saturday in connection with April 12 murder of cab driver Munesh, whose body was found dumped in Dravyavati river. The breakthrough in the case came when a traffic e-challan for the stolen vehicle—issued in Delhi two days after the murder—was sent via SMS to the deceased driver's brother. This helped police trace the gang's movements and led to their capture from Delhi.

DCP South Digant Anand said that on the night of April 12, Munesh was approached by a group of six to seven young men at the Akshaya Patra intersection in Pratap Nagar. They hired him for an offline ride to India Gate. During the journey, the group overpowered Munesh and held him hostage inside his own cab.

Their original intention was to beat him and flee with the vehicle. But when Munesh resisted, one of the attackers shot him twice in the stomach. He died on the spot.

The gang then drove to the Dravyavati river and dumped his body there before fleeing to Delhi with the stolen vehicle. On April 14, Shivdaspura police recovered the decomposed body from the river. That same day, Munesh's family, who had already filed a missing person report at Pratap Nagar police station, identified the body based on his clothing and physical features. A post-mortem revealed two bullets lodged in his abdomen, prompting police to register a murder case.

While the investigation was still unfolding, Munesh's brother received an SMS alert from Delhi traffic police regarding a challan issued for Munesh's cab. Realising the car was in use after Munesh's disappearance, he informed Jaipur Police, DCP Digant Anand said. This clue proved critical. Using data from the challan system and surveillance footage from Delhi, police tracked down the suspects and sent a team to detain them.

All five accused were caught in Delhi. The two adults were formally arrested while the three minors were sent to a juvenile correction home. Police also recovered the stolen cab, a pistol, five live cartridges, and two magazines from the gang. During questioning, it was revealed that the group was involved in similar crimes in Jaipur and other states. The case is still under investigation.

The two adults arrested have been identified as Angad Sharma alias Shiva alias Shivay (24), son of Ranjeet Sharma from Chirsi Khadar, Bakar Vatika in Faridabad district of Haryana, and Rahul Bairwa (19), son of Babu Lal Bairwa from Jhadoda village in Sawai Madhopur district, currently living in Govind Vihar Colony, Shriram Ki Nangal, Sanganer Sadar in Jaipur South.