No terror link to Gaggal taxi driver’s murder, say police

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, March 31

The Kangra police have managed to crack the Gaggal taxi driver murder case. The case did not have any terror links. However, all three accused in the case, who murdered the driver and took away his taxi, were hardened criminals and had dozens of criminal cases registered against them in Jammu and Kashmir.

Kangra SP Sanjeev Gandi while talking to The Tribune said two accused in the case — Purshotam and Kuljeet — were arrested, while the third accused, Pawan, was still at large. All the three were residents of Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Investigations have revealed all three accused had planned the murder during their stay at McLeodganj in January this year. They hired the taxi of Vijay Kumar from Gaggal, strangulated and killed him and disposed of his body near the Kotla bridge on the Pathankot-Kangra national highway. The accused changed the number plate of the taxi and took rural routes to get out of the state. They intended to use to the taxi for other crimes, the SP said.

He said further investigation into the case was going on and they would try to probe if the accused had any local links.

The murder case made national headlines in January before the Republic Day celebrations due to an alert issued by the Delhi Police. The police was suspecting that the people who had killed and taken away the taxi had terror links.

The case of murder of taxi driver and his missing vehicle pertained to January 14 this year.

Three persons had hired a taxi from Gaggal in Kangra district on January 14 at 8.15 pm. The Alto taxi was owned by Vijay Kumar of Gaggal. Since the taxi driver did not return home at night, his wife Sapna got worried. She tried to call him, but Vijay did not respond. Next day Vijay’s uncle Vipin Kumar lodged a missing complaint. After the police failed to locate him for the next three days, the family met then Kangra SP Abhishek Dular on January 19. After that the police put the Vijay’s mobile phone on tracking. This helped them in locating Vijay’s body near the Kotla bridge on the Kangra-Pathankot road, about 30 km from Gaggal. The taxi of the deceased driver had been missing since then.

The police had obtained footage from CCTV camera installed at the Gaggal Chowk in which three persons seen were boarding a taxi. The police inquired from hotels in McLeodganj to ascertain whether the three stayed there.

The police have learnt from other taxi drivers that the unidentified persons had come to hire taxi and Vijay had agreed to drop them at Pathankot on a relatively low fare.

The taxi started for Pathankot at 8.15 pm. However, Kumar didn’t return for the entire night after which his uncle filed a missing report.