UP Man Drugs, Robs Passengers After Offering "Free" Taxi Rides, Arrested

A 35-year-old man has been arrested here for allegedly drugging and robbing passengers after offering them "free or discounted" taxi rides, police said on Tuesday.

The accused has been identified as Sagar, a resident of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, they said.

According to police, the accused used to target gullible people by offering free or discounted taxi rides to them. During the ride, he would offer water or something to eat to the passengers, police said.

"On February 20, a 24-year-old man told police that on February 17, he went to the Anand Vihar railway station to catch a train for Kanpur," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railway) K P S Malhotra said.

The officer added that as the complainant could not get a ticket on the train, he decided to go home in Sector 58, Noida.

"He came out of the railway station and looked for a taxi. When Sagar offered him a ride at a lower price by saying that he is going towards Noida, the complainant boarded his vehicle," the DCP said.

Police said on the way, the complainant asked the driver to stop the vehicle as he wanted to buy a bottle of water and the former offered him water from his bottle.

After drinking the water, the complainant lost consciousness. When he regained his senses after a few hours, he found himself at the Labour Chowk in Sector-62, Noida. His gold ornaments, mobile phone, cash amounting to Rs 15,000, documents and credit cards were missing.

The complainant rushed to get a police complaint lodged in Noida but the Noida Police told him to report the matter to their Delhi counterparts as the incident had taken place in the national capital. Subsequently, an FIR was registered and investigation taken up, the DCP said.

Police said a team was formed to arrest the accused. The team went through video footage captured by 300 CCTV cameras in and around the Anand Vihar railway station, but the suspect could not be identified.

"The call detail records of the complainant's mobile phone were obtained and a route map was prepared through the locations of the phone. After an extensive hunt, the accused was arrested. We recovered a gold ring of the complainant from the accused, who told police that he had mortgaged the other items with another person," the DCP said, adding that further investigation is in progress.

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