Gang kills city cabbie, escapes with SUV

A 54-year-old driver working for a taxi service in Chennai was found dead in Melur near Madurai on Monday after he took three passengers from Chromepet to Kutralam on September 5. The deceased was identified as Naganathan, a resident of MGR Nagar in Chennai. The vehicle, a Toyota Innova, and three passengers are missing, the police said. Police suspect that Naganathan was murdered by the passengers who hired the vehicle. The murder came to light on Monday. Earlier, the taxi service owner Sundar had lodged a complaint with the Ashok Nagar police after Naganathan failed to return on September 8 as per the schedule. A team from the Ashok Nagar police station is on the way to Melur for a detailed probe. “It looks like the people who hired the vehicle murdered the driver and escaped,” police said.