: By removing the registration number plates of the car and dumping the vehicle and the body of the driver in two different places, the two suspected juvenile killers in the Uber murder case had believed they had concealed all evidence linking them to the crime.
However, they had apparently failed to realise that the very mobile phone number from which they had booked the Uber cab could be easily used to trace them.
So, when police landed at the homes of the two boys on Thursday night, the suspects were taken by surprise. “Fortunately for us, the phone number used for the cab booking had been taken on the genuine identity proofs provided by one of the suspects,” a senior investigator told The Hindu .
The police were also helped by another mistake committed by the suspected killers who were apparently in a hurry while erasing evidence.
“They had removed the number plates of the Swift Dzire car in which the murder took place, but they happened to leave behind one of the plates inside the car itself,” said the officer.
That helped the police quickly realise that the car had been plying for Ola earlier. According to the police, Ola stepped in to help identify the victim after which Uber provided the phone numbers of the passengers and the booking details.
“Our thoughts are with the family of our driver-partner. We have pro-actively shared details with the police to assist them with their investigation,” said Gagan Bhatia, General Manager, Uber North India.
Meanwhile, the father of the 16-year-old suspect is learnt to be a notorious ‘bad character’ of Najafgarh area.
According to a senior police officer, the juvenile has claimed that his father works as a security officer with a very powerful person in Hyderabad.
“But we are yet to verify his claims and are trying to get in touch with his father,” said the officer.
The two suspects are class 11 students at a private school in Najafgarh and have no previous criminal cases against them.
However, why they were carrying a pistol with them is being probed.
Meanwhile, the murdered cab driver Kuldeep Thakur is learnt to be the sole breadwinner of his family that includes his wife, two sons and a daughter.
“His daughter was to be married in December for which Kuldeep needed money. So he had decided to drive a cab in Delhi and earn as much as possible until December,” said Kuldeep’s nephew Jograj.
Kuldeep had purchased a new Swift Dzire car on loan only two months ago and according to his family he had been working “beyond his capacity” to make the most of his stay in Delhi, said his family.
The victim lived alone in a rented accommodation in South Delhi’s Kotla Mubarakpur, said police.
Police said Ola helped identify the victim after which Uber provided the phone numbers of the passengers
