Drivers kill colleague, police say

SHARJAH // Two Dubai taxi drivers allegedly murdered one of their colleagues and burnt the body in the boot of his vehicle, Sharjah Police said yesterday. A car was found on fire in an industrial area last Thursday, and police suspected the blaze had been started intentionally. On opening the boot, officers found the body of a man burnt beyond recognition, said Brig Yousef Musa al Naqbi, the head of the emirate's CID.

Police determined that the car belonged to a taxi company in Dubai, which confirmed that one of its drivers, MA, had been missing for five days. The car was then identified as the one belonging to the missing driver. Police would not identify the taxi company. After interrogating MA's colleagues, police arrested two of them, HM, from the same Kerala village in India as the victim, and APA. Police said they confessed to the murder, saying they killed him in Dubai and transported his body to Sharjah.

Police said the two colleagues told them they were envious of the deceased because of his success as a driver. On the day he died, the victim told them he had Dh25,000 (US$6,800) in his car, and they conspired to rob and kill him.
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