GREATER NOIDA: A 22-year-old cab driver who robbed people after offering them shared rides, and got his girlfriend to sit in the taxi as a decoy passenger, was arrested on Thursday with two more accomplices.
Police said an investigation into a complaint filed by a retired armyman's wife who was robbed of Rs 3.5 lakh cash and jewellery by the gang led them to Gautam Tyagi, his girlfriend Sonam (21) and aides Nishu Tyagi (20) and Karan Singh (19) who would often get into the cab midway, also as decoy passengers.
On October 13, Shailya Mishra (58) had booked Tyagi's cab from Ghaziabad railway station to Sector Gama 2 in Greater Noida but was robbed and thrown out of the car in Noida Extension. Tyagi's cab was attached to Uber but the booking was a personal one, and not made using the app.
SP (rural) Suniti said Mishra had arrived in Ghaziabad on Prayagraj Express at 7am that day. She was carrying a trolley and a suitcase, which had the cash and jewellery. The woman had hired a coolie to carry her luggage. He stopped near Tyagi's parked Wagon-R. Tyagi was at the wheel, Sonam in the passenger seat. He asked Mishra where she wanted to go, said the woman sitting next to him was also a passenger headed for Greater Noida, and offered to take her to her destination for Rs 300. She agreed.
Mishra told police Tyagi made a phone call to someone on the way. Soon, he stopped and picked up Nishu and Singh. When Mishra objected, he said the two new passengers were also going to Greater Noida. "The driver asked my wife to pay Rs 50 less as fare and allow them in the cab," Mishra's husband said in the police complaint.
When the cab reached Kisan Chowk in Noida Extension, Tyagi deviated from the route. "When my wife objected, the four others caught hold of her and gagged her. They snatched the suitcase and valuables, dropped her on the way and fled," he said. They also took away Mishra's cellphone.
She managed to borrow a phone from a passerby to contact her family. A case of robbery was registered at Bisrakh police station.
Police said they scanned CCTV footage outside the railway station and got some clues. Mobile numbers active at that spot at the time were put under surveillance. Almost three weeks later, they were able to nab Tyagi from Roza roundabout in Bisrakh.
Police recovered Rs 1.24 lakh cash and four new cellphones worth Rs 60,000. Mishra's stolen phone was also found. The investigation revealed none of them had a criminal background. "During interrogation, they revealed they had robbed four-five commuters of Rs 5,000-10000 each, but these cases went unreported," said a police officer.
Uber said the cab was registered on its platform but the accused was not an Uber driver. "This incident did not happen while the Uber app was being used. We can confirm the accused is not an Uber driver partner, so Uber has nothing to do with this. We are not aware of the circumstances under which the accused got access to the car," the company said.
Police said the driver had got the cab on rent from a Badaun-based owner for Rs 24,000 per month.
Police said an investigation into a complaint filed by a retired armyman's wife who was robbed of Rs 3.5 lakh cash and jewellery by the gang led them to Gautam Tyagi, his girlfriend Sonam (21) and aides Nishu Tyagi (20) and Karan Singh (19) who would often get into the cab midway, also as decoy passengers.
On October 13, Shailya Mishra (58) had booked Tyagi's cab from Ghaziabad railway station to Sector Gama 2 in Greater Noida but was robbed and thrown out of the car in Noida Extension. Tyagi's cab was attached to Uber but the booking was a personal one, and not made using the app.
SP (rural) Suniti said Mishra had arrived in Ghaziabad on Prayagraj Express at 7am that day. She was carrying a trolley and a suitcase, which had the cash and jewellery. The woman had hired a coolie to carry her luggage. He stopped near Tyagi's parked Wagon-R. Tyagi was at the wheel, Sonam in the passenger seat. He asked Mishra where she wanted to go, said the woman sitting next to him was also a passenger headed for Greater Noida, and offered to take her to her destination for Rs 300. She agreed.
Mishra told police Tyagi made a phone call to someone on the way. Soon, he stopped and picked up Nishu and Singh. When Mishra objected, he said the two new passengers were also going to Greater Noida. "The driver asked my wife to pay Rs 50 less as fare and allow them in the cab," Mishra's husband said in the police complaint.
When the cab reached Kisan Chowk in Noida Extension, Tyagi deviated from the route. "When my wife objected, the four others caught hold of her and gagged her. They snatched the suitcase and valuables, dropped her on the way and fled," he said. They also took away Mishra's cellphone.
She managed to borrow a phone from a passerby to contact her family. A case of robbery was registered at Bisrakh police station.
Police said they scanned CCTV footage outside the railway station and got some clues. Mobile numbers active at that spot at the time were put under surveillance. Almost three weeks later, they were able to nab Tyagi from Roza roundabout in Bisrakh.
Police recovered Rs 1.24 lakh cash and four new cellphones worth Rs 60,000. Mishra's stolen phone was also found. The investigation revealed none of them had a criminal background. "During interrogation, they revealed they had robbed four-five commuters of Rs 5,000-10000 each, but these cases went unreported," said a police officer.
Uber said the cab was registered on its platform but the accused was not an Uber driver. "This incident did not happen while the Uber app was being used. We can confirm the accused is not an Uber driver partner, so Uber has nothing to do with this. We are not aware of the circumstances under which the accused got access to the car," the company said.
Police said the driver had got the cab on rent from a Badaun-based owner for Rs 24,000 per month.
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