Cabbie who robbed passengers denied bail

BENGALURU:  This driver picked up unsuspecting passengers who were on their way to the airport and then robbed them of their valuables with the help of his friends. With the help of two of his friends, Mohammed Hussain alias Asad (28) has extorted five people. He would pick them up from near Esteem Mall on Ballari Road in the wee hours. This has been his modus operandi for the past two months.

A city court recently rejected Hussain’s bail plea. He hails from Mini Srilanka in Gandhinagar of Sagar taluk in Shivamogga district. The other two accused are Shaik Shaid and Amith, who are also from Sagar.He was arrested by Kodigehalli police. Four of the five cases were registered in Kodigehalli police station and one in Amruthahalli.

When Hussain drove around for passengers, two of the other accused would already be in the car. The victims assumed they were sharing the ride. As soon as the victim boarded the vehicle, the trio would threaten the passenger at knife-point and rob their gold chains, wallets, jewellery and mobile phones and forced them to draw money using their ATM cards. 

After hearing the arguments on the accused’s bail plea, Judge Subhash Sankad, LXV Additional City Civil and Sessions Court, said: “The police have recovered rings, iPhones, money and gold chains. These show that the accused is a habitual offender. Certainly, he will abscond and continue to commit the same offence if he is released on bail... Under such circumstances, the application filed by the accused is rejected.”