5 Held in Murder of Sector 57 Cab Driver on Delhi Mumbai Expressway
Delhi Police have arrested two men and apprehended three others, including a juvenile, for allegedly abducting and murdering a 22-year-old cab driver residing in Noida’s Sector 57 inside his vehicle on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. The victim, Ashish Pal, was killed on July 20 after being hired for an offline trip to Jaipur, police announced on Saturday.
Ashish had been missing along with his Maruti Swift taxi since July 19, according to a complaint filed by his father, Sarvesh Pal, a farmer from Uttar Pradesh’s Auraiya district. Ashish’s body was recovered on July 22 from the Jaipur-Ajmer route, while his stolen vehicle was later found abandoned in Nagaur district, Rajasthan.
During the investigation, police found that Ashish had last spoken to his friend, Shankar Dubey, over the phone on July 20, mentioning that he had received an offline booking to Jaipur. At the time of the call, his mobile phone location was traced near a private hospital in Jasola, southeast Delhi.
According to police officers aware of the case, a 16-year-old juvenile and three associates—identified as Mangal Deep, Sumit Sisodia, and Arjun Rinwa—had travelled from Nagaur district to Delhi on July 19. The following day, they hired Ashish’s cab from Jasola for ₹6,500 to travel to Jaipur.
While travelling along the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, the group stopped at a roadside eatery. Around 50 kilometres before reaching Jaipur, Arjun allegedly asked Ashish to stop the car under the pretext of using the toilet. Police said Sumit then overpowered Ashish by the neck while another suspect assaulted him, moving him to the rear seat where Sumit and Arjun strangled him to death.
The suspects dumped Ashish's body along the roadside and fled with his vehicle, mobile phone, and wallet. They stayed in Ajmer for a day and Nagaur for two days before abandoning the taxi and disposing of the stolen belongings at various locations.
A zero FIR initially registered at Mokhampura police station in Jaipur Rural district was transferred to Delhi Police and converted into a regular FIR at Sarita Vihar police station. Following technical tracking across Goa, Pune, Jaipur, and Beawar, police arrested Mangal Deep and Sumit Sisodia, both aged between 18 and 20, and apprehended the juvenile alongside two men who helped them evade arrest. Arjun Rinwa remains absconding.
