LAHORE: Yet another online taxi driver was allegedly kidnapped and killed in Manawan police jurisdiction here on Sunday.

The police said the body of the driver, Ashfaq Ahmad (42), was recovered with a bullet mark from a drain after some locals spotted it and called them.

A police official said, Ashfaq was allegedly kidnapped by unidentified suspects from Sattokatla area a couple of days back.

He said a kidnapping case was lodged immediately and a police team was working on it.

To a question, he said, the taxi of Ashfaq was found parked along a road in Sattokatla area.

He said the body had been shifted to city morgue for autopsy.

"It is the third incident reported in the provincial capital in which an online taxi driver is found murdered."

Earlier, in January this year, unidentified criminals had killed a young online taxi driver, Mohammad Ali (26), after he booked a ride from Shalimar area. Later, his bullet-riddled body was recovered from Sanda area of Lahore.

However, the police had resolved the murder case and arrested the suspect who allegedly confessed to have killed the young driver for refusing to wait and pick his (suspect’s) girlfriend.

Similarly, the body of another online taxi driver, Muhammad Ahmed, was recovered from Chuhng area of Lahore in November this year.

The victim was shot four times while his mobile phone and money were missing from the crime scene.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2021