Cab driver murder: Accused engineering student called lawyer multiple times during trip: Police

Ahmed’s family had reported him missing at the Rabale police station on March 5. His body was discovered by motorists in the Ahilyanagar area two days later.

According to police, Bhalerao had hired Ahmed’s cab on Thursday to travel to Junnar in Ahilyanagar district. From there, he was allegedly planning to take a bus to Pune to meet a friend.

An officer from the Thane (Rural) police, who was part of the team that arrested Bhalerao from Titwala, said that the accused made several calls to a lawyer during the journey.

“When we examined his call records, we found that after spending some time in the cab during the trip, he made multiple calls to a lawyer. We do not know how he knew the lawyer,” the officer said, adding that Bhalerao has since been handed over to the Pune (Rural) police.

Another officer said the accused’s claim that he stabbed the driver in self-defence after being threatened for money appears inconsistent with the injuries found on the victim’s body.

“Prima facie, the self-defence theory does not add up. The cab driver had several wounds which are not consistent with defensive injuries. We suspect the accused may have come up with the self-defence claim to avoid charges,” the officer said. Police said Bhalerao will be further interrogated to determine the actual motive behind the killing.

Meanwhile, the victim’s family has rejected the accused’s claim that Ahmed attempted to rob him.

Mohammad Amir, Ahmed’s brother, said that while driving the accused on March, 5 the driver had called his elder brother asking for Rs 5,000 for some cab-related work.

“We do not agree with the accused’s claim that my brother tried to rob him. In fact, he had called our elder brother asking for money,” Amir said.

He added that Ahmed, who had been living in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, had arrived in Mumbai only two weeks ago and was taking that route for the first time.