Chennai: A couple with multiple murder charges against them was arrested for murdering a call taxi driver by injecting poison and robbing him of Rs 6,100 at Onapalayam in Coimbatore. The couple who jumped bail plotted the murder reportedly since they were unable to pay rent for their home.
According to a report on The New Indian Express, the accused were identified as S Stephan and his second wife Amalorpavam, both of them were residents of KK Nagar in Chennai but they went hiding in Coimbatore district a few months ago.
In Coimbatore, the couple rented a home at Kalikkanaickenpalayam near Vadavalli but were unable to pay rent since both of them were unemployed.
During that time, the couple learned that some cab drivers and taxi operators will keep their trip fare in the car's dashboard before depositing it in the office.
Learning about this, the couple plotted to murder a cab driver and loot the cash. On Tuesday night, the couple booked the cab of the victim S Shanu to pick them up from a club to Coimbatore International Airport.
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While they were on the way, the couple injected a poisonous substance and robbed Rs 6,100 placed in the dashboard and his phone.
The next day, Shanu's body was found in the car and police started the investigation based on a tipoff from the public.
The police traced the last call of Shanu and reached the couple through the number in which they booked the couple.
The police then arrested the couple and seized 25 mobile phones, laptop, tab and cash.
Stephan was already accused of four murder cases while his second wife faces two murder charges. Both of them were arrested in 2016 and were out on conditional bail in 2016. However, they jumped bail and went into a hideout in Coimbatore.