How chilling plan to kidnap Noida businessman’s son led to cab driver's murder

A chilling plan to kidnap an 11-year-old boy for ransom ended in the brutal murder of an innocent cab driver, Noida Police have revealed, leading to the arrest of two men. The accused allegedly killed the driver to steal his vehicle for the abduction, only to abandon the scheme after the fatal encounter.

The accused have been identified as Govind Kumar (27) from Delhi and Sunny (21), alias Chotu, from Badaun. The duo were living in a rented accommodation in Noida’s Sector 49.

According to a TOI report, the case began on November 20 when police were alerted to a body found on the rear seat of a white Swift Dzire taxi near the Antariksh building on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME). The body was sent for post-mortem and the vehicle’s registration led investigators to the victim, cab driver Haruram Paudwar, whose family was subsequently informed.

On December 1, Paudwar’s son filed a formal complaint, leading to the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 103 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The senior police officer overseeing the case, ACP (Kotwali) Ritesh Tripathi, was cited by TOI as saying that dedicated teams were formed and investigators scanned footage from more than 80 CCTV cameras. This intensive electronic surveillance ultimately led to the arrest of the two men in front of IPEM College.

Police said the deceased’s mobile phone and personal documents were recovered from the suspects.

During interrogatio, the accused divulged a sinister motive. Govind Kumar stated that he and Sunny had plotted to kidnap Ansh Jha, the 11-year-old son of a Noida-based businessman, Vipul Kumar, for a “hefty ransom.” The pair had conducted reconnaissance and determined they needed a car to proceed.

To that end, they booked Paudwar’s cab on November 20 for a trip from Ghaziabad to Aligarh for a fare of Rs 3,200, with the intention of robbing him of the vehicle during the journey. However, the plan escalated to murder. Police said that when the car reached the DME and the duo attempted the robbery, Paudwar resisted and began calling for help. The accused then strangled him to death.

Shaken by the killing, the pair reportedly lost their nerve for the larger kidnapping plot. They left Paudwar’s body in the back of the car and abandoned the vehicle on the expressway before fleeing.