CCTV, witness help Kolkata police track cash, nab app cabby
Dwaipayan Ghosh | TNN | Updated: Mar 24, 2019, 06:41 IST
KOLKATA: An app-cab driver was detained on Friday night for stealing Rs 50,000 from an elderly couple who had left a bag in his cab after a trip. Driver Krishanu Parui did everything he could to hide the money, including answering confidently when questioned by cops, but a chance questioning of witnesses, and monitoring of CCTV footage, led to the recovery of the entire amount.
Sanjib Sen, 68, and his wife Swapna, 59, were returning from a vacation in Puri and had boarded the app cab at the airport on Friday evening. When they got off at the Sen Mahasay stop in Fariapukur, they forgot a black bag in the car. “I had my Aadhaar card and voter ID card besides the cash and my insulin supply in it,” Sen recalled.
Sergeant Jiten Chakraborty from Jorabagan traffic guard was on duty near Shyampukur when he received a complaint over phone that the Sens had left a bag in the cab. “Sen and his wife had landed at Kolkata airport in the evening and booked the cab from the airport,” said Sovon Saha, a family acquaintance of the Sen family. It was Saha who approached Chakraborty for help, even as the Sens reached Shyampukur police station to lodge a complaint.
Chakraborty fed the car’s registration number, provided by Sen, in his app and traced the owner who gave him Parui’s number. “I called him up and Parui said he had just picked up a passenger from Paikpara. I asked him to wait at Beadon Street crossing,” Chakraborty said.
By that time, the Sens had managed to contact Parui who denied having seen any bag. “I was certain he was lying. I asked for help and the control room informed me that the car was seen near AV School, and Parui had parked to the extreme left. I had just finished escorting a VIP and decided to check the AV School area. I found a shopkeeper who said he had seen a cab driver drop off a bag there. I found the bag and went to Beadon Street,” the sergeant said.
Once Chakraborty met Parui, he again denied having taken the money. By this time, SI Pratap Sarkar had reached the spot. They showed the bag to the driver and the passenger in the car recalled having seen Parui throw it away near AV School. “Shyampukur cops took Parui to two spots in the Shyampukur area and recovered the money and other items,” said an officer. Parui, a resident of Biren Roy Road in Behala, was later let go.
“We recovered the money within two hours of losing it. We are extremely grateful to Kolkata Police,” Sen told TOI.
Sanjib Sen, 68, and his wife Swapna, 59, were returning from a vacation in Puri and had boarded the app cab at the airport on Friday evening. When they got off at the Sen Mahasay stop in Fariapukur, they forgot a black bag in the car. “I had my Aadhaar card and voter ID card besides the cash and my insulin supply in it,” Sen recalled.
Sergeant Jiten Chakraborty from Jorabagan traffic guard was on duty near Shyampukur when he received a complaint over phone that the Sens had left a bag in the cab. “Sen and his wife had landed at Kolkata airport in the evening and booked the cab from the airport,” said Sovon Saha, a family acquaintance of the Sen family. It was Saha who approached Chakraborty for help, even as the Sens reached Shyampukur police station to lodge a complaint.
Chakraborty fed the car’s registration number, provided by Sen, in his app and traced the owner who gave him Parui’s number. “I called him up and Parui said he had just picked up a passenger from Paikpara. I asked him to wait at Beadon Street crossing,” Chakraborty said.
By that time, the Sens had managed to contact Parui who denied having seen any bag. “I was certain he was lying. I asked for help and the control room informed me that the car was seen near AV School, and Parui had parked to the extreme left. I had just finished escorting a VIP and decided to check the AV School area. I found a shopkeeper who said he had seen a cab driver drop off a bag there. I found the bag and went to Beadon Street,” the sergeant said.
Once Chakraborty met Parui, he again denied having taken the money. By this time, SI Pratap Sarkar had reached the spot. They showed the bag to the driver and the passenger in the car recalled having seen Parui throw it away near AV School. “Shyampukur cops took Parui to two spots in the Shyampukur area and recovered the money and other items,” said an officer. Parui, a resident of Biren Roy Road in Behala, was later let go.
“We recovered the money within two hours of losing it. We are extremely grateful to Kolkata Police,” Sen told TOI.
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