Cab driver murder: Accused planned to steal car, rob gold shops

"The gang members hired a cab driver posing as passengers, murdered him along the way, and fled with the vehicle," the police said.

Hyderabad: Significant developments have come to light in the murder of a cab driver in Patancheru, with Hyderabad police arresting three accused while two remain absconding.

Officials have uncovered an unusual murder plot, as the five accused had planned to steal the car and use it to rob gold shops.

Speaking to reporters, Hyderabad Police said the case involves an inter-state gang which was caught jointly by the Cyberabad Special Investigation Team and RC Puram police officials. “The gang members hired a cab posing as passengers, murdered the driver along the way, and fled with the vehicle,” the police said.

Strangled to death, car abandoned

A resident of Khammam, the victim Rajasekhar, owned two cars, one of which was engaged with a software company named Medallion. On the day of the incident, September 11, at around 3 am, after dropping off employees, he was hired by the five accused to drive toward the Old Mumbai Highway.

Within five to ten minutes, the accused asked the driver to pull over, claiming they needed to relieve themselves. As the vehicle came to a stop, one of the accused seated in the back allegedly pulled the victim back with a towel and strangled him to death. The offenders then stole the car and drove off, police said.

A technical snag hindered the accused’s plan as the car broke down. The group then decided to abandon the vehicle and escape.

“They went toward Rudraram near Patancheru, dumped the body there, and while traveling on the Mumbai highway, went near Kohir. When the car broke down in the outskirts there, they dumped it and left,” police said.

Three in police custody, two on run

Currently, three suspects, Godake Rahul, Suraj Shashikant, and Bombay Raju Ramachandra, have been arrested and are in police custody, while two remain at large. The police have described the individuals’ backgrounds as “unusual”.

Rahul and one of the absconding accomplices travelled between Pune and Hyderabad for clinical trials, having met via a pharmaceutical app, ‘E-Bio’. Three others, residents of Delhi, Thane and Pune, stayed in Secunderabad, working in catering.

One member from Delhi, claiming past criminal experience, proposed an elaborate plan of hiring a car, killing the driver, and using the vehicle to travel to Mumbai to execute the robberies. All five agreed to the plot.

Meanwhile, a case was registered at the Patancheru police station following the discovery of the vehicle 50 kilometres from the location where the victim’s body was found. The police said that Rajshekhar’s phone is still “with someone else and needs to be seized”.

Officials stated that once the remaining absconders are arrested, key details will come to light—including whether they have any criminal history, why they targeted a gold shop, why they chose Mumbai, and whether they had additional contacts there after bringing everyone along.

“As of now, looking at the three persons caught, there is no previous record found yet,” the officers said. Efforts are ongoing using National Crime Records Bureau data. Since all of them belong to other states, verification with the local police is still required, police said, adding that further details may come to light during interrogation.