New Delhi: A 27-year-old cab driver from Ayodhya was stabbed to death near Hazrat Nizamuddin on Wednesday, December 3, after he refused to take four people, including three minors, on a late-night joyride.
Police said the group had been celebrating the birthday of a man known as Imran before confronting the driver near a public lavatory.
Driver Attacked and Left Unattended for Hours
The victim, identified as Kuldeep, was allegedly attacked when he declined their demand for a ride to India Gate. According to police, the group stabbed him and stole his car, using it to drive around the city. Kuldeep lay injured in nearby bushes for nearly four hours until passersby spotted him in the morning and alerted the police.
He was taken to hospital but declared dead. The PCR call was received around 8:30 am, with the caller reporting a body under the Barapullah flyover near Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station.
Suspects Traced Through CCTV and Arrested
Deputy Commissioner of Police Hemant Tiwari said investigators reviewed more than 500 CCTV feeds from the area. A key clip from a lavatory near a temple in Bhogal helped identify the suspects. Imran alias Panwadi, aged 19, along with three minors, was arrested soon after. Tiwari said Imran had previous involvement in three snatching cases and a theft and was believed to have played the leading role in the murder.
During questioning, the accused initially claimed an argument had started over urinating, though this was later dismissed as false. Police said the group, under the influence of alcohol, stabbed Kuldeep in a fit of rage when he refused to take them to India Gate. The incident is believed to have occurred between 4:00 am and 5:00 am. The group later abandoned the stolen cab in Jangpura. Police recovered the vehicle, the blood-stained clothes of the victim and the knife used in the attack.
Police are now examining the sequence of events and the involvement of each accused as part of the ongoing inquiry.
