Gang robbing commuters by offering rides in cab busted, 4 arrested

A crime branch team of the Gurugram police, specially assigned to nab cab gangs involved in robbing commuters after offering them rides at key intersections on Delhi Gurgaon Expressway, nabbed four criminals involved in 11 such incidents.

The gang of four targeted commuters at Iffco Chowk, Shankar Chowk and busy junctions in Delhi and Faridabad. The crime branch team came across the gang while investigating an incident that happened on March 31 at Iffco Chowk in which the accused had robbed a commuter of his money, purse containing bank cards and his mobile phone.

The accused were identified as Ajay Mishra (29), Rakesh Singh (22), Vikas Kumar (22), Ajit Kumar alias Pintu. All the four men were staying in Bapunagar area of Faridabad and used to work as daily wage labourers at different places, the police said.

They also kept a low profile to ensure their crimes aren’t detected, the police said.

Police said that the accused had hired a Honda Civic to carry out their criminal activities. The sleuths are likely to question the owner of the vehicle in this connection.

“All the four had hired a Honda Civic and moved around in the evening at busy traffic junctions along the Delhi Gurgaon Expressway. They would offer lift to commuters and after overpowering them, rob them of their valuables, mobile phones and cash and dump them in secluded areas,” Rajiv Kumar, ACP, City, Gurugram police, said.

The crime branch team, led by inspector Jaivir Singh, recovered a white Honda Civic from the accused. “We had spoken to several victims and visited every crime scene and this gave us a general idea of their modus operandi and the vehicle used. On April 19, we received specific information regarding the presence of these men during the late hours at Atul Kataria Chowk. The stretch was barricaded and the accused were arrested while they were scouting for victims,” Singh said.

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The accused have confessed to their involvement in 11 such robberies in Gurgaon, Delhi and Faridabad, the police said.

ACP Kumar said that the accused will be questioned during the remand and preliminary investigation has revealed that they were active since the last two months. “They seemed to have entered the crime world recently and were out to make fast buck so that they could live comfortably,” Kumar said.

Voicing concern over a spurt in such incidents, he said that an awareness drive would be launched in the city to make commuters aware of the dangers posed by unregistered cab drivers.