New Delhi: The 34-year-old Ola cab driver’s body, who was reported missing since Tuesday, has been found in outer Delhi’s Haiderpur canal.
The deceased was identified as Salimuddin, a resident of Sohna in Gurgaon. The body had injuries on the head, the police said. His family members claimed that it was a case of hate crime as his hair had been cut, but the police have ruled out the allegation.
According to the information, on Monday, some people had boarded a Swift Dzire cab at the Kashmere Gate bus terminal. They told the driver they wanted a bigger car after which the cab driver booked another car. Salimuddin, who drove an Ertiga, arrived at the stated place and they asked him to take them to Murthal, as per the police.
The unidentified people paid the fare in advance. Around 3 am on July 24, Salimuddin’s car was found rammed into a tree in Bawana, but he was missing, said the police.
During investigation, it was found that the car was owned by one Hamid, a resident of district Mewat in Haryana, who told them that he had given the car to the deceased to drive.
“A blade, knives, cutters and human hair were found on the rear seat of the cab, following which its owner Hamid was summoned,” a senior police officer said.
“Hamid said that when he could not contact Salimuddin he sought the help from Ola representatives but they didn’t help him,” the police said.
His family members told police that the deceased had not returned home from July 23 and filed a police case.
On Thursday, Salimuddin’s body was found with head injuries in a channel connecting Haiderpur canal and Sonipat.
The body was handed over to the family after the post-mortem examination was conducted on Friday.
It is suspected that he was attacked with stones. The police are questioning the driver of the Swift Dzire about the unidentified passengers.
It is being investigated whether the accused had robbed the Ertiga from Salimuddin, and then killed him.
The police also suspected that after robbing the vehicle, they drove and rammed the vehicle into a tree and dumped it there.
Meanwhile, Ola company released a statement on the incident. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased. We are in constant touch with local police to help them investigate the case. We hope that the perpetrators of the crime would be caught at the earliest,” according to an Ola spokesperson.
