Chennai

On April 28, S Jagan (37) of Perumbakkam, who drives his cab for Ola picked two passengers from Chennai Central. When they reached Nerkundram, the duo asked Jagan to buy liquor from a Tasmac shop and asked him to keep the cab on for the air conditioner to run.

However, when Jagan returned, he found the cab missing. Based on his complaint, Koyambedu police registered a case and launched a hunt for the suspects.

Meanwhile, on May 8, Koyambedu police received another similar complaint after which the investigation was intensified. Two suspects, U Kulothungan (23) of Kattumannarkoil and H Karthik (27) of Thoothukudi, were picked up with the help of CCTV footage and investigation revealed that the duo along with one Marudhupandi stole Ola cabs using the same modus operandi and in Nazarethpet too, they had stolen a car on April 9, said police.

A car was seized and a hunt has been launched for absconding Marudhupandi.

Police said the trio pledged the stolen cars to make money. “Kulothungan and Karthik used to work as drivers. They would book for long trips so that the drivers would cut off the Ola trip to charge the sum privately. It made it easier for the accused to go off the radar of the taxi aggregator. They joined hands with Marudhupandi to pledge the stolen cars,” said an official.

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