Jobless Men Rob Cab Driver, Flee With Car After Inter-City Ride: UP Cops

Two men who allegedly booked a cab from Noida to Mathura and back but robbed its driver and fled with the vehicle from the Yamuna Expressway while returning have been arrested, police in Noida said on Wednesday.

The Hyundai Aura, the driver's smartwatch and a part of the cash robbed from him have been recovered, the police said, claiming to have cracked the case in two days.

The accused have been identified as Tarun Singh (25) and 33-year-old Chandra Prakash Singh, both living in the Vijaynagar area of adjoining Ghaziabad, a police spokesperson said.

The duo earlier worked as delivery executives but lost their jobs some time ago. Needing money, they decided to rob the cab and its driver for which they booked an inter-city trip from Noida to Mathura and back on August 13, the official said.

"The accused had booked the cab from the Itehda Gol Chakkar in the Bisrakh area. The driver of the Ghaziabad-registered cab was told that the duo would go to Mathura. There, they told him that they would go back to Noida as well and agreed to pay him the final fare," the police said in a statement.

"However, around 9.30 pm on August 13, while returning from Mathura to Noida, they asked the driver to stop the cab on a deserted location on the pretext of a toilet break. Soon they took out a pistol and a knife and overpowered the driver near Pari Chowk on the Yamuna Expressway. They took away the driver's two mobile phones, his smartwatch and some other valuables before fleeing with the car," the police said.

During the episode, the men also forced the cab driver to transfer over Rs 14,000 from his bank account via mobile payment to their accomplice, who is yet to be arrested, according to the police.

On Monday, an FIR was lodged at the Bisrakh police station under Section 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code on the basis of a complaint by the driver and an investigation launched.

"Today, on the basis of information by local police and through manual intelligence, they were arrested from the road between Chipiyana village and Ek Murti in Bisrakh. On interrogation, the accused stated that the cab robbery was planned with one of their accomplices," the police said.

"Efforts are being made to arrest the one who is still missing. The driver had transferred Rs 14,239 online to the account of this third accomplice, out of which Rs 2,500 have been recovered while the remainder has been spent by the accused," the police added.

According to officials, both the accused worked as delivery executives but both had lost their jobs. They also had proper knowledge of routes in the area.

"Due to the need for money, they carried out this robbery. Even today, when caught, they were on the lookout for a new target with a similar modus operandi," an official claimed.

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